New England Hot Dog Buns are a classic for a reason. The addition of milk powder makes the dough uniquely soft and delicious, and the straight sides are fantastic when toasted, and crunchy, and golden brown!
New England hot dog buns are absolutely scrumptious when stuffed with buttery lobster!
New England Hot Dog Buns (or New England top split hot dog rolls) are my favorite type of hot dog bun! Hands down. I went sampling these (in the form of lobster rolls) between Boston and Bangor, Maine (and even in the upper Midwest) when I visited the region last year, and this series of posts starting today, has been a while in the making. 🙂 It may be the dead of winter right now, but a warm, toasty, buttered, scrumptious lobster roll has timeless appeal and isn’t bound by seasonal trends and constraints!
But today’s post isn’t about the mighty Maine lobster roll. That’ll be next week. 🙂 Today, I’m sharing with you guys the recipe for New England Hot Dog Buns – the perfect vehicle for such delights as lobster rolls and fried clam rolls.
What I love about New England hot dog buns…
Is how you have to toast the sides with butter till they are nice and toasty and buttery and golden brown… yum! This makes the buns extra buttery, with a delightful crunch on the outside, and delightfully soft and milky on the inside.
I’ve previously shared this classic hot dog bun recipe that’s also really popular on my blog. That recipe does also work for these New England hot dog buns. However, today’s recipe is different in that the dough has a little more butter, and also includes milk powder, making it more tender with a hint of milkiness.
To make these lobster roll buns you will need a specialty pan to get those flat sides. I bought mine on Amazon. You could make your own tray with foil. But honestly, you could bake the buns really close together on a regular baking tray and still get those soft sides. The sides may not be as straight then, since the buns will expand sideways too, but they’ll be just as soft and delicious.
Making the dough for these New England hot dog buns is easy, because you can mix it all in your stand mixer. This is how I make it every time. However, if you’re not sure whether your active dry yeast is fresh, I highly recommend activating your yeast before adding the other ingredients into the mixer bowl.
How to activate yeast
Place the lukewarm water in the mixing bowl with a little of the sugar, and sprinkle the yeast over the water. Then mix it in just a little with a spoon or fork, and let it activate for about 15 minutes. Since I keep my yeast in the freezer, it takes a little bit longer for the yeast to activate. But eventually, you should see your yeast activating and forming a foamy, bubbly surface on water. This way you know your yeast is alive and well, and you that you can make perfect hot dog buns with it!
These lobster roll buns have the best flavor if the dough has been refrigerated overnight, allowing for a slow rise. Not only does this develop better flavor for the dough, it also makes it easy to handle the dough the next day. It’ll be a slightly sticky and soft dough, so it’s much easier to handle when chilled.
BUT, if you don’t have time to chill the dough overnight, that’s OK too. You can still make these the same day. Just let the dough rise (proof), at room temperature for about 1 hour (until it expands to about 1.5 – 2 times the original volume). Then press air out of the dough, and proceed with shaping it into hog dog buns.
How to shape New England hot dog buns (New England top split buns)
I shape these the same way I shape regular hot dog buns. I portion the dough into 10 equal pieces, then roll out each piece to form a rectangle (width will be a little less than that of the pan). Then tightly roll up the dough, fold and seal the edges, and then transfer them to the pan. This ensures beautiful, light, fluffy rolls that are evenly shaped.
Substitutes for some key ingredients
If you don’t have milk powder, you’re welcome to simply leave it out of the recipe. I do recommend it however. The addition of milk powder tenderizes the bread, resulting in a soft, delicious, almost milky flavor.
If you don’t like to use butter, you can substitute it with oil.
You can use bread flour, in place of AP flour. But you may need to add a little extra water or milk to get the same consistency then. But even with AP flour, you may need to adjust how much liquid you add, because this tends to change with the weather. The right consistency here is when the dough still sticks to the bottom of the bowl while it’s being kneaded, before the addition of butter. If the dough comes off the sides and the bottom, then you’ll need to add a little water (a teaspoon at a time), until you reach the desired consistency.
However, if there’s too much water and the dough is too sticky, then add just a little flour (a teaspoon at a time). Do this until the right consistency is achieved.
These New England hot dog buns (lobster roll buns) are a clear cut above the rest. Their uniquely soft sides makes them that much more delicious. And of course, they make the best lobster rolls ever!
So go ahead and get yourself a New England hot dog roll pan and give this recipe a try! And if you don’t have one, just use the recipe to make the BEST regular hot dog buns instead! You’ll never want anything to do with store-bought hot dog buns ever again. 🙂
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TOOLS YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
New England hot dog pan – This is essential to make these buns. They help give these buns the characteristic soft sides New England hot dog buns are known for.
Stand Mixer – I use a Kitchen Aid mixer, but any hardy stand mixer will make this process easier for you.
Pastry Brushes – I used this for all my pastry making. It’s great to smoothly apply that egg wash over the top of the buns.
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New England Hot Dog Buns
Ingredients:
- 17.6 oz AP flour
- ¼ cup milk powder non-fat or full cream is OK
- ½ cup warm milk
- ½ cup warm water, plus an extra 1/4 cup of warm water if needed
- 2 tsp dry active yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp softened butter or 3 tbsp oil
- Extra oil to lightly oil the bowl
- 1 egg for the egg wash
Instructions:
- In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer - combine the flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar and salt. (See recipe notes on how to activate the yeast, if you’re not sure your yeast is “alive” or fresh).
- In another small bowl - whisk together the water, milk and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- With the paddle attachment or dough attachment in your stand mixer - mix the dry and wet ingredients until combined.
- Switch to the dough hook of your stand mixer, and knead the dough to bring it together. Add more water if the dough is too dry. The dough should come off the sides, but stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, until you have a smooth ball of dough.
- Add the oil (or butter), a little at a time, and knead for a further 5-10 minutes (I knead it for about 8 minutes), until the dough is shiny, smooth and tacky to the touch.
- Lightly oil a big bowl and place the dough in it. Make sure the dough is lightly oiled on the surface of the dough as well.
- For best results and flavor, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight (8 hours) or for up to 24 hours. If you want to bake the hot dogs on the same day, you can cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place, until it has doubled in size.
- On the day you bake the bread rolls - turn the chilled dough out on to a lightly floured surface and lightly dust the surface of the dough with flour as well. If the dough wasn't chilled (and was only proofed for 1 hour at room temperature), you may need to press the dough to remove some of the air and you may need extra flour on your hands and on your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking as well.
SHAPING AND BAKING HOT DOG BUNS
- Brush a New England hot dog pan with butter, and set aside.
- Cut the dough into 10 equal sections. I weigh the dough, and then cut it into 10 equal portions.
- Roll out each portion into a flattened piece of dough that's a little less than the width of the pan - about 4 inches wide and 5 to 6 inches long. Then TIGHTLY roll up the shorter side to form a tube/sausage shape. The ends of this will be tapered out and longer than the width of the pan. Pinch the seam to seal, and then tuck in the sides, and pinch those to seal as well. All the sealed edges should be on the same side of the dough, so that the other side has a smooth surface.
- Place the rolled up dough in the prepared pan. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Make sure all the rolls are similar-sized.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough portions rise for about 45 min in a warm place, until the rolls almost reach the edges of the pan. In the winter, this can take a little longer than 45 min, and on very hot summer days, it could take less than 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, about 30 minutes prior to baking.
- For the egg wash - break an egg into a small bowl and whisk gently. Brush the hot dog rolls with the egg wash and bake them in the preheated oven until they are golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped. This should take about 15-20 mins.
- Remove from the oven and let the buns cool down enough to be handled comfortably. Carefully remove the buns from the pan, and store them in an air-tight container until ready to be used. You can gently pull the buns apart before storing them. Best eaten on the same day. Keep them at room temperature for a few days, OR freeze them for later.
PREPARING THE BUNS FOR HOT DOGS
- Spread softened butter on the two soft sides of the bun. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, toast each buttered side of the bun until golden brown. This can take between 2-4 minutes per side.
- Using a bread knife, carefully cut long the top of the bun to create a split top bun. The buns are now ready to be used.
Tips & Tricks
- Place the 1/2 cup of warm water in the mixing bowl, and add 1 tbsp of sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over this and let it rest for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the yeast should be activated, and look frothy and bubbly on the surface.
- Then add the flour, milk powder, rest of the sugar, salt, milk and egg mixture into the same bowl, and mix to combine. Proceed from step 3.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Gorm3sa says
I make these time and time again … they’re fail proof! Thank you for the recipe!
Trenton says
Thanks for the recipe, I’m giving it a try now! Also if you don’t want to use the overnight method but also want that additional depth of flavour, make a poolish by adding the water and equal pets flour (with about a quarter of the yeast) and let that double in volume before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
April Sauls says
These rolls are fantastic! I’m very happy that I invested in the new pan. I was afraid of spending the money and having the rolls not turn out but I’m very pleased that I tried this recipe.
Caukie says
Help! This recipe is exactly what I need for a big family gathering but, the PRINT command does not work! Am I doing something wrong?
Dini says
Hi Caukie, I’m not sure what went wrong, I just checked and the Print function works just fine. Either way, I just emailed you the PDF version of the recipe. I hope that helps! 🙂
Kat says
Been doing this recipe for almost 3 years now and it’s a real treasure!!! Thanks for sharing!
Jason K says
I made a couple of batches (first time baker) and they both turned out with great flavor but they were just a little dense and less fluffy than I believe they should. Any suggestions on what I might have done wrong? Still practicing until I nail this one. Thank you
Dini says
Hi Jason!
Did you use weight measurements or volume measurements?
Usually these hot dog buns turn out dense if extra four is added to the dough. This can be because volume measurements were used. When you measure flour with a cup, it can add too much flour depending on how you measure the flour with the cup. If you scoop the cup, then it will pack too much flour, and result in a drier and denser bread. I recommend spooning the flour into the cup and then levelling it out for better results. Of course weighing the flour is the best way to get consistently perfect results.
Sadie says
I have a question about the pan. Is the bottom flat or curved? In your photo the pan looks like it’s rounded on the bottom, but your baked buns seem to be perfectly flat.
Dini says
Hi Sadie
It is slightly curved, but the baked hot dog buns are really soft and stand up on their own.
I hope that helps!
Seri says
I just made these, admittedly without the correct bread pan, but oh my lord are they good!
I’m now going to be trying some of your other baking recipes in future.
Move over Kanji from SeriousEats
Beatrice Delorme says
I liked this recipe
Timmy Bodner says
Can I make the recipe with vegan milk powder (I eat kosher and want to eat it with hot dogs), or can I substitute it for something else that will give me the same effect but no dairy,
Also can I make it with a mix of bread&/whole spelt&/white spelt flour ?
Dini says
Hi Timmy
I haven’t made this with vegan milk powder, so I don’t know how different the recipe will be with the substitution. But I think it should be fine though.
You can mix flour types as well, but just note that the amount of water might change slightly to keep the same softness in the final baked product.
I hope that helps!
Russell Ohnmeiss says
I’m from California and we drove to Massachusetts in our 5th wheel about 15 years ago And everywhere We went they had lobster rolls in these buns that I’ve never had before … even at McDonald’s… So delicious …this recipe is so delicious … it’s everything I remembered and more. Never been able to get these buns here on the West Coast..
Laura (Italy) says
Thanks for the recipe, but the US measure it’s very tedious to convert for all of us in the rest of the world 😀 and always not precise, serious cooking need grams and weight measures.
Dini says
Hi Laura, I 100% agree on the importance of weight measurements. There’s a Metric toggle button below the list of ingredients in the recipe above. If you click on “Metric”, you will get the unit conversion. I hope that helps!
Janet says
I’ve now made this maybe five times since trying it for the first time maybe three weeks ago. I cannot get enough. We have a hard time using them for buns when we want to devour them immediately with butter.
I bought the pan you recommended and it is really nice.
I have one comment. The last two times I’ve made this I dumped everything into a food processor and never needed to do any kneading. It ended up taking maybe 15 seconds. And I have a cheap lightweight processor. It works perfectly.
The bun is perfect as a cradle for lobster!
Lindsay says
Made for lobster rolls in July 4th. Bought the pan off of amazon as suggested. Big big hit with my family for holiday meal. Thanks!
Marti says
Best hd buns ever.
I didn’t have regular milk powder, so I used buttermilk powder instead.
I dont usually rate a recipe unless I’ve used ingredients as-written, but at the time I was making this, i had already done my shopping for the week. I didn’t want to make a special trip for milk powder… plus I don’t ever use it for anything else and it ends up drying into an unusable rock.
After making this recipe with buttermilk powder (which I use all the time), I will never make it any other way. So delicious! The recipe works with what I always have on hand, so why fiddle?
I put the ingredients in my bread machine and used the dough cycle. I don’t ever use the machine for actual baking. I guess I should call it my kneading machine. Anyway, the machine worked great. Just make sure to read the manual and put ingredients in the pan in the order instructed.
Dini says
Thank you so much for the review Marti! I’m so glad the recipe came out well with buttermilk powder, and you enjoyed the hot dog buns 🙂
Sheena says
These were delicious (so were your other hot dog buns…kids preferred the other ones and we marginally preferred these). I didn’t leave either to prove overnight, but will try to one of these days. Thank you for brilliant recipes!!!
Jasmine says
This recipe is so good. The texture is just right for making sandwiches for the elderly people. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Sharon Kettelle says
A friend shared your lobster/hotdog roll recipe
Lisa P says
Cant Wait to try this recipe, one question though, can you tell me how far apart I would place them without the special pan. I don’t want to wait to order one and have it delivered.
Janelle says
Planning on making these this weekend to use for lobster rolls! Will instant yeast work?
Jutta says
OMG!!! THESE ARE THE BEST! I substituted the dry milk with dry coconut milk and need more liquid but they turned out just delicious. My husband said they’re too good for hot dogs. This recipe is a real keeper. Thank you!
John G says
I’ve made this recipe 5 times in the last 9 days since I received my New England hot dog bun pan. One adjustment I made was portioning 10 rolls of 2 Oz of dough. With the rest of the dough I portioned 5 2.5 Oz and made hamburger buns. Just as delicious!
I also place a large baking sheet over the hotdog pan and weigh it down. It squares off the buns and pushes to the edges.
Great recipe, easy to make, and totally delicious.
Lori S says
So excited to try this tomorrow! Question for John. When you say you place a tray on top of the pan, I assume this is while the dough is raising? Thank you!
Dini says
Hi Lori
I think John baked the hot dog buns with a tray weighed down on top. This creates very square and straight sided hot dog buns. I think this is what John meant, as I bake sandwich bread the same way (but with a loaf pan).
If you proof the buns with the tray on top, the dough will stick to the tray and this will make it very hard to remove it without damaging the dough.
I hope that helps!
Lori S says
Thank you so much for the quick reply .
Thinking I’ll follow your recipe and not use the pan. I ordered my hot dog pan from Amazon and it’s coming today. Lobster rolls for the family gathering tomorrow. ❤️
Lori S says
Absolutely perfect!
Dini says
Thank you for letting me know Lori, I’m glad they came out well! 🙂
Mônica says
Thanks for a great bun recipe!
Arun khan says
I love this recipe I’m at Fiji I’m learning to bake I’ve opened a hot bread shop and Google how to bake long loaf, thank you, your time, your knowledge, really thank you, I hope you come visit us in Fiji
Dana says
Best of luck with your bread shop, Arun!
Ebonie says
I’m not a baker at all but this recipe made it very easy for me! I didn’t have regular milk powder, only buttermilk powder, and they came out great! No store brand one stands a chance next to theseeeeee ❤️
Dini says
Thank you so much for letting me know Ebonie! I’m so glad they came out well! 🙂
Kat says
Is it okay to use King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose flour? It is lighter flour with more protein than most off the store counter flours
Dini says
Hi Kat!
Yes you can use KA unbleached flour for this 🙂
Pati B says
Can I make this recipe using a bread machine?
Dini says
Hi Pati
I don’t own a bread machine, so I can’t be certain. But I can’t see a reason why this couldn’t be mixed and kneaded in a bread machine. The shaping will have to be done manually though.
Kay says
can I pls knw how many cups of AP flour & can I use plain flour as its rare to find AP in SL
Dini says
Hi Kay
AP flour is the same as plain flour. 500g of flour is approximately 4 cups of flour measured by the spoon and level method. You may not get accurate results with cup measurements because the amount of flour can vary when using a cup to measure it.
If you scoop the flour, you may end up with too much flour and the buns will end up being dry and tough. So if you do have to use a cup to measure, then please use the spoon and level method.
Cheers
Dini
Sarah Lindsey says
I love these buns. Would this dough make a good hamburger bun?
Dini says
Hi Sarah!
Absolutely!! I’ve also had great success with making hamburgers with my homemade hotdog buns (where the dough is not as sticky as this one).
Let me know if you do try them! 🙂
Steve says
I’m a complete novice, followed the instructions diligently and they were perfect.
Very soft and delicious. I didn’t have time (or patience) to rest overnight but still great!
Thank you for all the detail it really helped me.
Olivia says
Has anyone tried this recipe without a standing mixer and just used their hands alone to knead? Any tips? Thanks.
Dini says
Hi Olivia!
You can make this without a stand mixer. You will have to knead it longer by hand, and since this is a tacky dough, it might stick to your hands more too. But do avoid using too much flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands, because too much flour will make these buns more dense.
I would definitely recommend leaving the dough to rise in the fridge overnight as well, since it will make it easier to handle the dough the next day.
I hope that helps!
lagrange says
j’ai hâte d’essayer la recette cela fait un moment que je cherche la recette lobtser roll je suis ravie 🙂 ça a l’ air délicieux
super DINI 🙂
Par contre pour les ingrédients quelqu’un pourrait me dire ce que sa donne en grammage svp?
Dini says
Hi Lagrange!
Did you mean the metric measurements of the ingredients?
Salut Lagrange!
Voulez-vous dire les mesures métriques des ingrédients?
J’utilise Google Translate et j’espère que c’est correct!
lagrange says
c’est convertir le poid par ex ½ tasse de lait chaud çà équivaut a quoi en grammage ?svp
wilhelmina says
These buns are absolute perfection!
Jane Saunders says
Oh Dini, you have no idea how good these buns are looking to me. I’m afraid that over in the UK, we are only just getting around to revising our views of the importance of buns when it comes to burgers and hotdogs. I need to know that the bread is going to be good when I order out. If all restaurants would serve these hot dog buns, I’d be a very happy person – loving the list of ingredients.
Mary Walton says
I made these today and they turned out great. The dough was sticky but easy enough to spread in the pan after only a one hour rise, and the resulting buns were fabulous.
gregory anderson says
Where’s the spit top? Is it just implied?
Dini says
Hi Gregory,
They are also called split top because you simply cut/split them on top to stuff them with hot dogs or lobster or fried clams and such. If you look at the photo just above the recipe card in the post, you can see how I’ve stuffed several split buns with lobster.
gregory anderson says
Thank you. I’ve a sharp knife, so I can cut them. What I am now wondering is if I want to try scoring the top. Split Top bread loaves are my only reference there. Too cool. This is my next project for this next week. Woo Hoo! Thanks.
Dini says
Hi Gregory,
You could score each individual dough piece here (10 in total), with a bread lame or very sharp knife if you like. You could make criss-cross patterns or little diagonal cuts. However, this may cause the rolls to rise and expand more as well, compared to non-scored rolls.
If you do try it, I would love to know how they come out! 🙂
Judi Black says
I am wondering if I can freeze or refrigerate the dough? Or can I freeze the hot dog buns?
Dini says
Hi Judi
I prefer to freeze the already baked hot dog buns now. They keep for a few months, and I only have to let it thaw out in the fridge overnight, or on the counter top for a few hours. I can re heat them in the oven if I want to as well. It’s just easier for me. I wouldn’t recommend refrigerating the dough as it will keep proofing in the fridge and will result in a sour, yeasty taste. If you do choose to freeze the dough, it would be best to shape the dough into hot dogs first, and then freeze them on a sheet pan and place the frozen dough in ziploc bags or air tight containers. They will need to be thawed out, and then proofed until they are about double in size before being baked. Hope that helps!