by 
Hot Dog Buns
Every few years, our home experiences football fever (that’s soccer in the US and Australia) and we have many last-minute gatherings with friends to support our favourite teams. Something I like to make for such gatherings are my Pigs in Blankets. But for something a bit more substantial, these Chinese Hot Dog Buns are a popular choice.
They are best served warm from the oven, but they can also be served at room temperature, which is great if you need to transport them.
It also goes without saying that these Chinese Hot Dog Buns are great to serve at kids parties!
What are Chinese Hot Dog Buns?
Chinese Hot Dog Buns are a soft milk bun wrapped around a hot dog sausage. If you were to go to the trouble of making your own hot dog bread rolls, I would go one step further and include the sausage as well to make an all-in-one hot dog bun.
These Chinese Hot Dog Buns can be found in many Chinese bakeries, although my first time eating them were from a Japanese bakery in Zurich. I loved how nifty it was to bake the sausages inside the bread rolls, but I wasn’t really a fan of cold or room-temperature hot dogs … which is why making these Chinese Hot Dog Buns at home is a fantastic idea if you like your hot dogs “hot”!
Chinese Hot Dog Buns Recipe
My recipe for Chinese Hot Dog Buns uses my Japanese Milk Buns recipe for a soft brioche-like dough which is perfect as a hot dog bread roll. However, I have reduced the sugar content so that it is not too sweet against the sausage.
Alternatively, for a more traditional bread roll, you can also use my recipe for Soft Bread Rolls. Follow the same steps, although my Soft Bread Roll recipe makes 12 rolls, so you can either make 12 hot dog buns or size down the recipe to make 9 buns.
Either way, both recipes yield very similar results, but the Japanese Milk Buns are a bit more more buttery and rich compared to the Soft Bread Rolls.
Use whichever hot dog sausage you like – pork, chicken or even vegan sausages work great here. But they should be the pre-cooked “frankfurter” variety (called “Wienerli” in Switzerland).
How to Make Chinese Hot Dog Buns
Start by following my recipe for Japanese Milk Buns. Making a Japanese Milk Buns is very similar to making any other loaf of bread, except that you also add a floury paste to the dough. This paste, called a Yudane or Tangzhong, takes only a few minutes to make, but it makes all the difference to the finished loaf of bread.
Once you get started, you will quickly see that this milk bread recipe is quite similar to a brioche recipe, both in terms of ingredients, as well as texture of the dough.
Step 1
Make the Tangzhong by whisking together the ingredients in a small saucepan. Place the saucepan over low heat, and continue whisking until the mixture forms a thick paste. You want a thick enough consistency so that, as you whisk the mixture, the whisk leaves lines which do not move.
Scrape the Tangzhong into a small bowl and set it aside to cool. Once cooled, cover the bowl with clingfilm and place it in the fridge overnight.
If you are in a hurry, you can use the Tangzhong as soon as it has cooled to room temperature. But leaving the Tangzhong overnight allows it to develop more flavour.
Step 2
Measure the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Lightly mix the ingredients together.
Step 3
Add the egg and Tangzhong. Use the dough hook to start to incorporate everything together. Slowly add the milk until a sticky dough starts to form. Then add the butter, one tablespoon at a time.
Step 4
Knead the dough on medium speed for 10-15 minutes until you have a dough which passes the windowpane test.
To perform the “windowpane test”, pinch off a small piece of dough, roll it into a ball and use your hands to gently stretch the dough. If the dough can stretch to form a thin sheet and be almost translucent so that you can see the light through it, your dough has passed the “windowpane test”. This means that you have kneaded the dough sufficiently and that the dough is ready to be proofed.
At this stage, the dough will be somewhat sticky and tacky, mostly because of the butter and high liquid content. But the dough should be coming away from the sides of the bowl during the mixing. Once the dough has had its first proofing, it will be less sticky to the touch and easier to handle.
Step 5
Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Roll the dough into a smooth-ish ball and place it inside the bowl.
Cover with a clean tea towel, and set it aside somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
Step 6
Once the dough has doubled in size, gently remove the dough from the bowl. The dough will deflate as you handle it.
Step 7
Divide the dough into 9 equal portions (I recommend using a digital kitchen scale). Roll each portion into a smooth ball.
Use both hands to flatten the ball of dough into a log with tapered ends. The log should be long enough to wrap around a sausage three times.
Wrap the dough around the sausage, and tuck the ends under the sausage.
Step 8
Placed the wrapped sausages on the a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Repeat with the remaining dough and sausages.
Step 9
Place the sheet pan somewhere warm for 20-30 minutes, or until the dough has puffed up slightly.
Gently brush the buns with some egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).
Step 10
Bake the hot dog buns in a preheated oven at 180°C/356°F (without fan) for 20-25 minutes, or until the buns are lightly golden.
If the buns are browning too quickly (check at 10-15 minutes), loosely cover them with a sheet of foil for the rest of the baking time.
Serve the buns hot or warm, or at room temperature.
Tips for Making Bread Dough Ahead of Time
I love baking bread, but I don’t love getting up extra early to get started on the dough. So I typically make the dough the night before and allow it to rise slowly in the fridge overnight. The longer proofing time has the added benefit of allowing the dough to develop more flavour and a better texture. Come the morning, the dough will have at least doubled in size, and it will be ready for shaping as per the recipe.
To make the dough the night before:
- Make the dough as per the recipe.
- Place the dough into a large oiled bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a reusable bowl cover.
- Place the bowl into the fridge.
- Let the dough rise overnight, or for at least 8-10 hours.
- The next morning, the dough should have at least doubled in size.
- Gently remove the dough from the bowl.
- The dough is ready for shaping and the second proof as per the recipe.
- As the dough will be cold from the fridge, the second proof may take slightly longer.
Chinese Hot Dog Buns
Ingredients
For the Tangzhong
- 14 g (2 tablespoons) white bread flour
- 100 ml (⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) milk
For the Japanese Milk Bread Dough
- 350 g (2 ⅓ cups) white bread flour
- 3 ½ g (1 teaspoon) instant dried yeast, see Kitchen Notes
- 6 g (1 teaspoon) fine salt
- 24 g (2 tablespoons) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 1 egg
- 125 ml (½ cup) milk, warmed to 37°C/98°F
- 50 g (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
For the Hot Dog Buns
- 9 hot dog sausages, pork, chicken or vegan
For the Eggwash
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
For the Tangzhong
- Whisk the ingredients together in a small saucepan.
- Place the saucepan over low heat.
- Keep whisking until the ingredients form a thick paste. The consistency should be thick enough so that as you whisk the mixture, the whisk leaves lines in the mixture which remains.
- Remove the paste to a small bowl, and set it aside to cool down.
To Make the Dough
- Measure the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into the bowl of an electric stand mixer.
- Mix the dry ingredients together using a dough hook.
- Add the egg and the cooled Tangzhong.
- Slowly add the milk until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough.
- Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Wait for each tablespoon of butter to be fully incorporated into the dough before adding the next.
- Continue kneading the dough on medium speed for about 10-15 minutes, or until the dough passes the windowpane test. (See Kitchen Notes below). By this stage, the dough should also be coming away from the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly oil a large, clean mixing bowl.
- Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place it into the mixing bowl.
- Cover the dough with a clean tea towel or bowl cover, and place it somewhere warm for about 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
Portion the Dough
- Gently remove the dough from the bowl. The dough will deflate as you handle it.
- Divide the dough into 9 equal portions. Use a digital scale for even-sized buns.
Shaping the Hot Dog Buns
- Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
- Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball. I do this by pulling the edges of the dough into the centre, and then pinching those edges together while shaping the dough into a smooth ball as you do so. The pinched edges form the bottom of the buns.
- Use both hands to gently flatten the ball of dough and roll it into a log with tapered ends. The length will depend on how long your sausages are, but the dough should be long enough to wrap around a sausage three times.
- Wrap the dough around a sausage, and tuck the ends under the sausage.
- Place the wrapped sausages on the lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the above steps with the remaining pieces of dough.
Proving the Hot Dog Buns
- Place the pan somewhere warm, covered with a clean tea towel, for about 30 minutes, or until the buns have puffed up slightly.
Baking the Chinese Hot Dog Buns
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F (without fan).
- Place a metal baking tray on the middle shelf.
- Lightly brush the buns with some egg wash.
- If using, sprinkle the buns with sesame seeds.
- Bake the buns for about 20-25 minutes, or until they are lightly golden. Check the buns at about 10-15 minutes and, if they are browning too quickly, cover the buns with a loose sheet of foil for the remaining baking time.
- The buns are cooked if an internal thermometer reads 85°C/185°F (make sure you are testing the dough and not the sausage).
- Leave the buns in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing.
- Serve the buns hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Kitchen Notes
- WINDOWPANE TEST
Pinch off a small piece of dough, roll it into a ball and use your hands to gently stretch the dough. If the dough can stretch to form a thin sheet and be almost translucent so that you can see the light through it, your dough has passed the “windowpane test”. This means that you have kneaded the dough sufficiently and that the dough is ready to be proofed. - MAKE AHEAD TIPS
To start the Milk Bread dough the night before:
* Make the dough as per the recipe.
* Place the bowl of dough (covered) in the fridge to proof overnight, or for at least 8 to 10 hours. During this time, it should have at least doubled in size.
* The next day, proceed with the rest of the recipe. As the dough will be cold, it may require a bit more time for the second proofing period. - DIFFERENT TYPES OF FLOUR
For Swiss readers: I use Zopfmehl (or farine pour tresse) when making bread and enriched dough. - DIFFERENT TYPES OF YEAST
* Please note that there is a difference between instant yeast (also called instant dried yeast or fast-action dried yeast) and dried yeast (also called active dry yeast). If you are not sure what type of yeast you have, please check the packaging for instructions on how to use the yeast.
* With instant yeast, you can add it directly to the flour mixture without having to activate it first.
* With dried yeast, you will need to activate it first (usually in some warm liquid). - PROOFING THE DOUGH
Dough needs a warm environment for the yeast to activate and cause the dough to rise. If you don’t have a warm place in your home, try one of the following ideas:
* In the oven with the oven light switched on (works only for some ovens).
* In the oven with a tray of boiling water on the bottom shelf.
* In the oven at a low temperature of about 25-30°C (77-86°F). - OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Made these today except I used cheese kransky and they were amazing! Like what I remember buying every week at the Asian bakeries as a child.
Hi Suzine,
Oh I love the idea of using cheese kransky! I must try this too. Thanks so much for trying this recipe 🙂
These hot dog buns were absolutely delicious! They tasted amazing just straight from the oven. Definitely making these again!