Doggie Essentials New England Hotdog Buns Recipes

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. You may knead this dough by hand; however, you will better served using a stand-mixer, fitted with a dough hook... up to you. This recipe assumes that you are using a stand mixer.
• 3. To make these buns the "proper" way, you will need to purchase a New England hotdog pan. I received mine from Amazon, and here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UNMZQ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 An "authentic New England hotdog pan will be 15 x 6 inches (38 x 15.25cm), and have indentations for 10 buns.
• 4. How to get a perfect rise on your buns. Ever put a pan of dinner rolls, biscuits or, in this case, hotdog buns, and after an hour or so, you check on them, and they are not rising evenly? Chances are that you did not do anything wrong with the recipe; however, you might have allowed them to rise in a drafty area of the kitchen. What happens is that the cooler drafts, blow against the covered pan, and unevenly change the temperature. So, the left side of the pan is slightly cooler than the right, and the dough rises at different rates. The Solution: If you can, turn on your oven for about 30 seconds, to take the chill off, then put a rack in the middle position, and cover and place the dough in the oven. The gentle heat (sans drafts) will help your creations to achieve an even rise.
• 5. What about that milk powder? You will find milk powder in many New Englander's recipes for these buns. The milk powder combines with the proteins of the flour and produces a light, yet firm bun that will not fall apart, when you pile on the toppings. It can be used in a lot of bread recipes, where you want something light, but with a firm structure.
• 6. Nutritional Yeast... Really? This is my contribution to this recipe... nutritional yeast is heated up, so it loses its ability to make anything rise... its only purpose it to add a bit of depth to the flavor of the buns. If you do not have any... No worries. You will still love the taste of these classic New England buns.
• 7. Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• 8. Add the flour, milk powder, nutritional yeast flakes, and salt, to the bowl of your stand mixture, and whisk to combine.
• 9. In a separate bowl, whisk together the warm water, and sugar. The temp of the liquid should be no higher than 105f (40c).
• 10. Proof the yeast by adding it to the warm liquid, and then wait about 10 minutes.
• 11. Chef's Note: After that amount of time, the yeast should begin to foam. If it does not, your poor yeast is dead. Give it a proper burial, and buy some good yeast.
• 12. If your yeast is good, add the milk, and egg, then whisk to combine.
• 13. Turn the stand mixer on low, and add the liquid to the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time, scraping down the bowl, after each addition.
• 14. Allow the dough to knead for 5 - 6 minutes.
• 15. Chef's Note: If the dough is still too dry, add a bit of warm water, a tablespoon at a time, until it comes together. I had to add an additional tablespoon of water.
• 16. Chef's Tip: We want a slightly sticky dough that pulls away from the sides of bowl, and begins climbing up the hook.
• 17. Add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, and continue kneading for an additional 8 - 10 minutes. The dough should be crawling up the hook.
• 18. Place a bit of oil into a large bowl, and add the dough. Turn the dough ball, so that it is lightly coated in the oil.
• 19. Cover the bowl and place in a warm, non-drafty, corner of your kitchen until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour or more (mine took 1 hour, and 45 minutes).
• 20. Remove the dough, and knead a few times on a lightly floured surface.
• 21. Use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. We want it to be slightly sticky.
• 22. Brush your New England hotdog pan with some grapeseed oil, or you could use melted butter... Yummy.
• 23. Weigh the dough, and divide into ten equal portions.
• 24. Take a portion of dough, and on a lightly-floured surface, roll into a rectangle, approximately 5 1/2 x 10 inches (14 x 25.5cm).
• 25. Tightly roll into a tube, and place into one of the indentations in the hotdog pan.
• 26. Repeat for the remaining dough, being careful to make them the same size.
• 27. Cover the pan with cling foil, and put in a non-drafty, warm corner of your kitchen.
• 28. Allow them to rise until they are just below the top of the pan, about 35 - 45 minutes.
• 29. While the hotdog buns are rising, place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 350f (175c).
• 30. Chef's Tip: If you want your hotdog buns to have a nice glossy look, make an egg wash from one egg, and a few drops of water, and then brush it on the tops before baking.
• 31. Place the hotdog buns in the oven, and bake until browned, and they sound hollow when you thump them, about 20 - 25 minutes.
• 32. Allow them to cool down for about 15 minutes, before handling.
• 33. Separating the Buns:
• 34. Carefully separate the buns, as shown in the photograph.
• 35. Since the buns were baked side-by-side, you will have two sides of the bun that do not have a crust. That is the yummy part.
• 36. Brush melted butter on both of the non-crusted sides (or you could use mayonnaise).
• 37. Place in a hot pan, and allow the buttered sides to get nice and toasty, about 1 - 2 minutes per side.
• 38. Use a serrated knife to cut straight down the middle of the bun. You can cut down about three-quarters of the way, but no farther. If you do, the bun will fall apart, when you add the doggie.
• 39. PLATE/PRESENT
• 40. Throw in a cooked doggie, and what toppings you desire. Enjoy.
• 41. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Steps:

• Mix all of the ingredients together and knead until dough is smooth and shiny. Add additional water a little at a time if dough is not smooth. Allow dough to rise in greased bowl until nearly doubled in size. Gently punch dough down and place into a lightly greased New England Hotdog Bun pan, stretching the dough to the corners. If dough does not easily stretch, let it rest a few minutes then continue stretching. Place a greased baking sheet on top of the pan and weigh it down. Let the dough rise again until the dough comes to within 1/2 inch below the rim of the pan. With the cover still in place and weighted, bake 18 minutes at 375 F. Remove the cover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the buns are golden brown. Allow buns to cool in pan then turn out onto cutting board. With rounded side up, slice the top of the buns almost to the bottom. Makes 10 buns

Steps:

• Combine the yeast and sugar with 1/4 cup of the warm water in a large bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. This allows the yeast to "bloom.".
• Add the salt and flour.
• Lightly beat 2 of the eggs with the milk and add this mixture to the bowl.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter, and add this as well.
• Have the remaining 1/4 cup warm water ready.
• If you are mixing by hand, add some of the water and begin to mix, adding the water as needed.
• If using an electric mixer, attach the dough hook and jog the machine (turn it on and off) until the dough begins to form. This prevents the flour from jumping out of the mixing bowl.
• Add the remaining warm water as needed. The dough usually takes the full amount.
• When a soft dough has formed, knead for 5 minutes by machine, or about 8 minutes by hand.
• This is a soft bread and does not require as much kneading as chewier types. The finished dough should be soft but dense, and should not be sticky.
• Shape the dough into a ball and lightly oil it with the salad oil. Place it in a large bowl.
• Cover with plastic wrap or a slightly damp towel, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.
• Punch the dough down and move to a work surface. Lightly dust the work surface with flour.
• Shape the dough into a square.
• Using a knife, cut the dough into 13 equal pieces. This is best done by cutting 12 pieces and using scraps to make the thirteenth. If there is not enough dough for the thirteenth piece steal a little pinch off the others.
• With the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, lightly grease a baking sheet that is at least 15" long.
• Shape the dough into uniform 7" long tubular pieces, (or buy a New England Hot Dog Roll pan from the site above). It is important that all the pieces be the same length.
• Place the tube in a line, side by side, down the center of the baking sheet, leaving a 1/2" gap between them.
• Put the pan in a warm place, and let rise a second time.
• Prepare a thick egg wash by mixing the remaining egg with 2 tablespoons water.
• After 15-20 minutes, the tubes of dough will have risen enough that they will be touching.
• Generously brush the tubes with egg wash, return the pan to the warm spot, and let the dough rise until almost doubled in size, 10-15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Place the buns in the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, until deep golden brown.
• Let the buns cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes, then run a spatula under them to make sure they are not sticking to the pan.
• Using 1 or 2 spatulas, carefully lift the baked dough in one piece onto a rack to cool. It is crucial that you NOT let the buns break or tear apart.
• After 1 hour, when the baked dough is completely cooled, move it in one piece to a cutting board.
• Using a serrated knife, slice down the center of each tube. You will lose half a tube on each end (which is why you need 13 tubes to make 12 buns). The place where the tubes met is now the center of each bun.
• They will open naturally when it comes time to stuff them, but you can make a small incision to ensure that this happens.
• Wrap the buns in plastic wrap until ready to use. If you do not intend to use all 12 buns, freeze the extras, and defrost when needed.
• Note:.
• To infuse the dough with the delicate flavor of saffron, chop 1 teaspoon saffron threads and add to 1/4 cup water in a small pan.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over med-high heat, then remove from the heat.
• Let cool to lukewarm, and substitute for the 1/4 cup water added for mixing.
• Since the dough will be golden to start with, look for a dark brown top before removing from the oven.

Steps:

• Using the dough cycle of your bread machine, place all the ingredients into the basket as manufacturer's directions; press start. When the cycle is complete, remove the dough.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic; shape the dough into a 6 x 15 inch rectangle. Lightly grease the special hot dog bun pan and and place the shaped dough in the pan.
• Grease the bottom of a clean baking sheet and place on top of the dough filled pan. Let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm place or until the dough has almost filled the pan.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and with the baking sheet on top, bake the rolls for 18 minutes. Remove the baking sheet and bake a few minutes longer if necessary to brown the rolls.
• Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool for 5 minutes; remove the buns from the pan and place directly on rack to finish cooling. When completely cool, slice each bun down the middle vertically, without cutting through the bottom; then separate into individual buns.