Homemade Hot Dog Buns

After finishing up a Facebook Live making hot dog buns, I went to the blog to link up the recipe and was SHOCKED to find that I haven’t posted about these yet. While we don’t eat hot dogs super often, but I’ve been making my own homemade hot dog buns for YEARS. And they are SOOO good. I can’t believe I haven’t shared this before!

Like I said, we don’t eat hot dogs very often. Even if you find an organic, nitrate and nitrite free, all natural, all beef hot dog… at the end of the day, they are still very highly processed meat. But whenever I do buy them, I go for the nitrate and nitrite free beef hot dogs that my Walmart carries. I also like the chicken hot dogs that Aldi’s occasionally offers.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the recipe for homemade hot dog buns is the same recipe that I use for my bread. It’s the Breadbecker’s basic bread dough recipe which is SO easy, consistently good and extremely versatile. The only difference for bread and my homemade hot dog buns, is the bake time. Both homemade hot dog buns and hamburger buns bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, while the basic bread bakes for a half hour.

I have an actual hot dog bun pan from USA Pans that makes 10 buns at a time. I love it! It’s just for fun – because I’m obsessed with kitchen gadgets. But I also make mine on a basic USA Pan sheet pan. All USA pans are made of steel-coared aluminum  with a silicone coating.

USA pans are the safest alternative to “non-stick” pans that I have found.

Slowly, but surely, I have replaced all my other pans with this brand! I should add that they are slightly more expensive. But I saved up and purchased them over time with birthday and Christmas money.

When it comes to homemade hot dog buns, 3 out of 4 of my kids actual prefer their hot dog bun on the side with butter. Instead of putting the dog in the bun, they like to eat the hot dog plain. The bun is actually more like a dinner roll or slice of bread. But Eli in particular LOVES eating his hot dogs in actual homemade hot dog buns.

One single batch of the Breadbecker’s Basic Dough Recipe will make about 12 hot dog buns. 

But keeping it real, I always make a double batch of dough. This will make a dozen each of homemade hot dog and hamburger buns. To start, I shape my dough into a flat, but still round circle so it’s easier for me to divide in equal(ish) pieces. I cut the circle into two halves and then cut each half into 3 pieces.

Next you just roll each pieces of dough into a bun shape. I make them FLAT because they are going to rise until double in size AND they will rise in the oven. You don’t have to make them too round to start with it. I promise they will round on their own as they bake. If you just roll them into a log, you will end up with a super puffy bun, which is not ideal. Not to be crass, but these end up looking like pantyliners. They just do. You all know that was helpful tip though because now you know exactly what I’m talking about it 😉 

Don’t worry if these aren’t pretty right now.

Just work them until you’re happy enough with each bun and then place it on your baking sheet. After the rise and baking, they will be beautiful, round and just absolutely perfect. Once you have uniform sized hot dog buns, cover them up with a kitchen cloth and let them rise on top of your hot oven. You’ll want them to double in size before baking at 350 degrees. Cook the homemade hot dog buns for around 15 minutes, just until they are golden on top and barely brown on the bottom.

Have you ever tried making homemade buns before? If not, give it a shot and please let me know what you think!