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.”
Greg S says
Great recipe. I made these and had hot dogs off the grill. Excellent
Scott Davies says
Awesome buns
carissa says
Hi there! I just had a question. I know the milk powder is very important for making these soft but I do not have any. Can I just omit this ingredient and leave the rest of the ingredients and measurements the same or will I have to adjust anything since I will not be using milk powder? Thanks!
Dini says
Hi Carissa
You can leave out the milk powder. It will change the flavor of the bread slightly, but if you still add the right amount of liquid, it will still be very soft. The dough should be fairly soft and sticky/ tacky, so you will need to add enough water to get the right consistency.
I hope that helps!
Carissa says
Thank you so much! Excited to try this out! I plan to make and use your method of letting it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. Just to confirm…after kneading you put it right in the fridge right? You don’t let it sit out for an hour, then fridge for the 8-24 hours right?
Dini says
Hi Carissa
Yes, you let the dough rise in the fridge after kneading it. It’s a slow, cold proof 🙂 Make sure it proofs properly again after shaping and before baking as well!
Good Luck!
Carissa says
Thank you again and I am so sorry for another question but I am making these today and wanted to clarify one thing. This is a dumb question and I am having a hard time wording it to explain but when you say roll up the shorter side do you mean roll up so your starting the rolling process using the shorter end (therefore rolling more I guess to make it to the end of the 5-6 inch length of the dough)? Or do you mean grab the longer end and roll that up so your actually rolling for a shorter amount of time ? Sorry again and thank you again!
Carissa says
Actually never mind. Just realized you have pics which answers my question! 🙂
Dini says
Hi Carissa sorry about the late reply. I’m glad the pictures answered your question, and I hope it turned out well! 🙂
Bill Grig says
Looking forward to giving this a try
Mo says
First time making these and they came out perfect. I don’t own a stand mixer therefore I did everything by hand.
Carol says
I used this recipe for regular hot dog buns. I made 12. They came out PERFECT. I’ve tried several other recipes and this is the one. Tender and just the right size.
I will also use it next time I make New England style for lobster rolls.
I used about half white whole wheat flour, still soft and fluffy. I live at high elevation so I used less yeast, proofed overnight, and baked at 375 for about 14 min.
Thank you!!
Dini says
Thank you so much for letting me know Carol, I’m so glad they came out well for you! 🙂
David says
Thanks for the great recipes and superb directions!!
Nawla says
I almost never leave blog comments, but I just had to this time around! Thank you for your brilliant instructions on using the New England hot dog bun pan. I’ve previously followed the guidance provided on the King Arthur site and didn’t love the results. They suggested pressing the dough into the pan, then covering the pan for the second rise and baking. I much prefer your approach and the results!
Niki says
Wonderful recipe. Thank you
Anita says
Can you use Bob’s Redmill 1 to 1 flour for this recipe?
Dini says
Hi Anita
I unfortunately have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour, so I can’t be sure if it will work.
Tommy says
Can you just rool out the dough and put it in the hot dog pan
Dini says
Hi Tommy
You can. The hot dogs will need to be cut, along the indentations to be separated instead of being able to pull them away like in this recipe.
Hope that helps.
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!