Ditch the dry, flavorless store-bought hot dog buns! These hand-rolled brioche hot dog buns are tender, soft baked, and emerge from the oven shiny and golden brown.
The secret to getting perfect texture? It's the addition of an extra egg yolk and a touch of milk powder to the dough! These small but mighty ingredient adjustments result in a super-soft, buttery hot dog bun that actually holds your hot dog without breaking.
Try serving these soft hot dog buns with homemade sage breakfast sausages, or any of your favorite bratwursts, hot dogs, sausages, lobster or tuna rolls, and more!
About These Hot Dog Buns
After finishing my recipes for a single loaf of brioche sandwich bread and soft brioche burger buns, I wasn't ready to call it quits with this soft, sweet, versatile bread dough. I turned my attention to a different type of bun: long and skinny hot dog buns.
To give these hot dog buns an even softer texture that allows them to accommodate your favorite hot dogs or sausages, I added an extra egg yolk to my base brioche dough, as well as a small amount of dry milk powder.
These two small changes make the hot dog buns extra soft, so that when you pick them up they don't spit the hot dogs back out at you.
Don't worry, the extra egg white from that added egg yolk doesn't go to waste; instead of a whole egg egg wash, these brioche hot dog buns use a wash made of egg white and whole milk, which gives them their shiny, soft, light golden brown color.
Shaping hot dog buns is a pretty straightforward process too! These may not turn out quite as uniformly as store bought hot dog buns, particularly if you're new to shaping dough, but that's just part of their lovingly homemade appeal if you ask me.
If you're nervous about how to shape hot dog buns, don't be. My step-by-step hot dog bun bun shaping guide has plenty of visuals to help you approach the process with confidence. As always, there's a video at the end of the post if you need more visual assistance!
Ingredient Notes
Here's what you'll need to make these soft homemade brioche hot dog buns! See recipe card for ingredient quantities.
Milk - Whole milk works best for brioche — the fat content is important. Other milks (low or no-fat) will change the texture of the dough.
Milk Powder - I use King Arthur Baking's Baker's Special Dry Milk which is a nonfat dried milk powder, but you can also use Bob's Red Mill Nonfat Dry Milk Powder or even King Arthur's dried whole milk powder. I usually order it online, but if you're looking for it in the grocery store and it's not in the baking aisle, try checking near the baby formulas!
Unsalted Butter - Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature. You should be able to easily press a finger into it. The colder and firmer your butter is, the longer it will take to incorporate into the brioche dough.
How to Make Brioche Dough
Brioche dough is enriched with fat from butter, milk, and eggs, as well as sugar (or honey, in this case). It's mixed and kneaded in two stages.
First, the liquid ingredients get mixed and kneaded into to the dry ingredients. Then the softened butter is gradually kneaded into the dough once a gluten network has had time to form.
Why is brioche mixed this way? Butter is a solid fat and if added too soon it would coat the dry ingredients and prevent them from absorbing the liquids. Adding it second allows the dough to form a strong gluten network first. That way the butter coats the gluten network instead of coating the flour particles.
I've gone much into more detail about brioche dough and how to troubleshoot it in my brioche bread post, so pop over there to read more about it especially if it's your first time making brioche.
After mixing, before kneading.
After kneading, before adding butter.
After adding butter and kneading. So smooth!
Shape the dough into a ball by tucking all the ends under so the top is nice and smooth and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let it rise.
During this first rise, the brioche dough will double in size.
Kitchen temperature makes a big difference in how quickly your brioche rises. If your kitchen is cold, the butter will be more solid and the dough will rise slowly. If your kitchen is warm, the butter will be warm and the dough will rise quickly.
To check if the dough is ready to shape, gently press a lightly floured fingertip into the top of the dough. If the indentation fills in quickly and completely, it needs more time.
If the indentation it fills in slowly and leaves a slightly visible dent, it's ready to shape.
It's more important that the dough looks and feels right than that a certain amount of time has passed. If the dough needs another 30 or even 60 minutes to rise, that's fine.
How to Shape Hot Dog Buns
Gently deflate the dough, then turn it out onto a clean counter or work surface to shape. Do not flour the countertop; flour will prevent the dough from sticking to itself and the counter, and we want to use the slight stickiness to help build tension in the dough during shaping.
If the dough is very sticky because its warm in your kitchen and the butter is melting, cover and pop the dough in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes or up to 1 hour before you start shaping. Cooling down the butter in the dough makes brioche easier to handle.
Weigh the entire batch of dough, then divide it into eight equal portions using your kitchen scale.
Gently flatten each portion of dough into a long rectangle-ish shape, stacking smaller pieces on top of larger pieces if needed.
Roll the dough from the top down, folding down the top corners or folding in the two sides as needed to even out the dough.
Each time you roll the dough forward, pinch with your fingertips to seal it. Finish with the seam tucked on the bottom.
Gently roll the log of dough back and forth on an unfloured surface so the hot dog bun has an even thickness throughout.
I usually roll my hot dog buns about 7 inches long. You can taper the ends if you want, but I usually don't.
Brioche dough is very smooth, soft and stretchy. If you need to nudge or squish in one thinner end or roll a thicker end a bit thinner to get an even 7 inch rope of dough, that's absolutely fine.
Arrange the eight hot dog buns on a parchment lined sheet pan. Make sure you leave space between them as they're going to spread out as they rise.
It's important that the seam of the shaped hot dog buns is fully underneath as they rest. As the buns rise and expand, you want the seams to stay sealed together against the counter.
Brush the tops of the buns with oil or spray them lightly with non-stick spray, then cover with plastic wrap. Let them rest for 1-2 hours at room temperature until they look puffy and have about doubled in size.
Immediately after shaping
After rising the buns are quite puffy
When you poke or tap the hot dog buns gently they should jiggle and spring back. If they're not ready after an hour, check on them in 15-minute increments until they're ready.
Remember: Warm dough will rise faster, cold dough will rise slower.
Baking Brioche Hot Dog Buns
Towards the end of the dough rising time, preheat the oven. Beat the leftover egg white with 2 teaspoons of milk to make an egg wash. Brush the brioche hot dog buns with a thin layer of the egg wash.
Right before baking, lightly score the top of each hot dog bun with a long slash lengthwise down the middle to help them expand in the oven.
Scoring the top helps create a vent for steam to escape as the hot dog buns bake. If you don't score the hot dog buns, the steam will look for the weakest point to use as a vent and will blow out the bottom of the buns where the seam is.
Let the hot dog buns cool completely before slicing. If you slice the hot dog buns while they're hot, the steam still trapped inside them will turn the starches into mush — it's really unpleasant!
Yes, You Can Do a Cold Rise with Hot Dog Buns
A long cold rise gives the brioche dough more time to develop its flavor and soft texture. It also helps you better fit the baking process into your schedule.
The nice thing about brioche dough is that it's incredibly resilient. Cold temperatures don't just slow down yeast activity, they also help the butter firm up, which further slows down the rising process.
Before shaping, this brioche dough will be fine in the fridge for up to 48 hours! Make sure it's in a bowl or container that gives it plenty of room to expand. Give it at least an hour to sit at room temperature before you divide and shape it.
You'll want to use a stand mixer!
You need a stand mixer with a dough hook to make brioche. If you have a KitchenAid mixer with the tilt head and the bowl that screws in at the base, the motor might have trouble with this dough. Hold the bowl in place to make sure it doesn’t unscrew during the kneading process.
If you have a bowl-lift model, still keep an eye on it during mixing and kneading. You don't want the mixer to walk off the counter! If your mixer’s motor feels like it’s overheating, you can pause for 5 minutes and then resume mixing.
Practical Tips & Recipe Notes
- These soft-baked hot dog buns work really well with the "bun length" hot dogs. If you have shorter hot dogs or sausages, you can certainly adjust the length of these hot dog buns to better fit your needs. You could also divide the dough into 6 instead of 8 to make 6 longer buns or 6 wider buns! Just add 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
- If you don't reach a perfect windowpane before adding the butter and it's been at least 10 minutes of kneading that's okay — you can go ahead and start adding butter. It won't be a technically perfect brioche, but it will still be delicious!
- If the butter chunks are struggling to incorporate, lightly dust in flour as the dough kneads — it will help the butter cling to the dough. Resist adding more flour unless absolutely needed!
- You can absolutely divide this dough into fewer pieces to make larger or thicker buns! You may need to adjust the bake time in that case. Use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness, you're looking for an internal temp of 195°F.
TL;DR — Brioche Hot Dog Bun Recipe Summary
- Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients using a dough hook. Knead to windowpane stage.
- Add room temperature butter 1 tablespoon at a time until incorporated.
- Knead until windowpane stage is reached again.
- Cover and rest at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Shape into hot dog buns.
- Spray the hot dog buns with non-stick spray, cover with plastic wrap and rest 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Whisk egg and milk together, brush the buns with egg wash, score lengthwise, and bake for 15-17 minutes at 350°F.
- Let cool briefly on the pan, then transfer to cooling rack.
📖 Recipe
Soft-Baked Brioche Hot Dog Buns
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook (you CANNOT use a hand mixer here)
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 350 grams all-purpose flour
- 20 grams powdered milk
- 6 grams instant yeast (see notes for active dry yeast)
- 5 grams diamond crystal kosher salt
- 158 grams whole milk (90°F)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 large egg yolk (save the egg white for the egg wash)
- 25 grams honey
- 85 grams soft room temperature unsalted butter (6 tablespoons)
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg white
- 2 teaspoons whole milk
Instructions
- Mix the dough. Combine flour, salt, yeast, and milk powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a separate bowl, whisk together warm milk, honey, egg, and egg yolk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed (KitchenAid speed 2-3) until the dough comes together in a shaggy messy ball on the dough hook, about 3-5 minutes. The dough will look dry at first, but will hydrate as it mixes. Be patient!
- Knead the dough. Increase speed to medium (KitchenAid speed 4) and knead until the dough passes the windowpane test, about 7-10 minutes. If the dough hasn't reached windowpane after about 7 minutes, drizzle in an additional ½ teaspoon milk while kneading, then cover and rest for 5-10 minutes. Knead 2-3 minutes more. It should get there!
- Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. With the mixer running on medium (KitchenAid speed 4), add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Let each piece fully incorporate before adding more. The dough will look like it is falling apart each time you add more butter, but it will come back together. Pause the mixer to gather the dough around the hook or scrape the butter down into the bowl occasionally as needed. This can take 10-15 minutes. Be patient!
- Knead the dough again. Increase speed to medium-high (KitchenAid speed 5-6) and knead until the dough is smooth, shiny, and passes the windowpane test again, about 5 minutes.
- Cover and rise. Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl or container. Cover and let rise 1 hour at room temperature (72-75°F) until just about doubled in size. If not doubled after an hour, let it rise an additional 30-60 minutes until doubled. When you push a finger into it, the indentation should fill back slowly and incompletely.
Assembly and Shaping
- Deflate the dough. Turn dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to gently deflate the dough. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces using a kitchen scale (each piece should weigh about 88 grams).
- Shape the hot dog buns. Gently flatten each piece of dough against the counter into a long rectangle shape, stacking any smaller pieces on top of larger pieces if you're combining them. Roll the top edge down, pressing with your fingertips to seal. Repeat this until the dough has formed a log, folding the two short sides in or tucking the top corners down as needed to even out the sides. Gently roll the log to even it out until it's about 7 inches long.Repeat with the remaining 7 pieces of dough, then arrange in a greased and parchment lined loaf pan in two rows of four.
- Final Rise. Arrange the 8 hot dog buns on a parchment lined sheet pan with the seams tucked underneath. Spray the tops lightly with non-stick spray or brush lightly with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. They should look puffy and if you lightly press a finger into one, the indentation should fill in slowly and not all the way.
Baking
- During the last 30 minutes of the dough rising, preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk together the leftover egg white and milk to make the egg wash.
- Egg wash and bake. Brush the top of the hot dog buns with the egg wash. Use a lame or sharp knife to lightly score lengthwise down the top of each bun. Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden brown on top and an internal temperature of at least 190°F.
- Cool. Let cool slightly on the pan, then remove to a rack to finish cooling completely.
RECIPE NOTES
- Be patient when adding the butter — you're asking the gluten network to incorporate quite a lot of fat each time you add a new chunk of butter! It can take 60 seconds for each cube of butter to incorporate.
- For a long cold rise, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before shaping. Remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before shaping. They can be refrigerated after shaping for 8-12 hours. Remove from the fridge for 1 hour prior to baking. These hot dog buns are best baked from room temperature.
- If you don't reach a perfect windowpane before adding the butter and it's been at least 10 minutes of kneading that's okay — you can go ahead and start adding butter. It won't be a technically perfect brioche, but it will still be delicious!
- If using active dry yeast use 7.5 grams (round down to 7 grams if you don't have a jeweler's scale). Mix with the liquid ingredients before adding to the dough instead of adding it to the dry ingredients.
- These soft-baked hot dog buns will be at their softest on the same day you bake them and will become firmer over time. You can store your homemade hot dog buns in an airtight bag with as much air pressed out of it as possible for 5-7 days at room temperature.
- To defrost frozen brioche hot dog buns, leave them in the bag on the counter for about 30 minutes, then warm them up in a 250°F oven for about 8-10 minutes.
Bret says
I've looked and looked and either I am blind or the recipe doesn't show anything about the powdered milk. My assumption is it is added to the dry ingredients.
Rebecca Eisenberg says
yep, thanks for letting me know, add it to the dry ingredients! i’ll go in and update that asap.
Bret says
Oh, and you say to add vanilla to the wet mixture but it is not in the list of ingredients.
Rebecca Eisenberg says
lol can you tell i cloned this recipe from one of my other brioche recipes and then updated it? clearly i missed a few things! you definitely don’t need vanilla for this one! The recipe card has now been updated!
Carol-Ann Beattie says
Recipe with super easy. I not only made a hot dog rolls but I also did Burger rolls. They are so soft and fluffy I love it. This will be my go-to from now on
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Oh I love that! This is a great dough to split and do both with. Happy baking! 🙂