Soft & Fluffy Hotdog Buns (Tangzhong)

Hotdog Buns (Tangzhong) – These buns are soft and fluffy with a light crust and wonderful flavor. They can hold your hotdogs and an abundance of trimmings without going soggy or falling apart.

The addition of tangzhong (that magical secret ingredient often used for soft, fluffy Asian breads, like Japanese Milk Bread) will help keep your hotdog buns soft and fluffy for days.

for some helpful tips before you begin, click here.

Makes 10 jumbo or 12 regular hotdog buns.

tangzhong:

1/2 cup (120 ml) water
3 tablespoons (22.5 g) bread flour

dough:

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet or 7 g) active dry yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons (15 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (240 ml) water
3 3/4 cups (450 g) bread flour
1/2 cup (62 g) full-fat powdered milk
1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g) fine salt
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil

1. MAKE THE TANGZHONG.

– In a small pan, over medium-high heat, combine 1/2 cup (120 ml) water and 3 tablespoons (22.5 g) flour for the tangzhong.
– Whisk until thick like pudding, maybe 3 or 4 minutes.
– Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate to cool while gathering the remaining ingredients.

2. ACTIVATE THE YEAST.

– Warm the water to about 110°F (43°C). (Slightly warm to touch.)
– In a small bowl, stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water.
– Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy.

3. COMBINE THE INGREDIENTS.

– In a stand mixer bowl, briefly stir together the flour, powdered milk and salt to mix and to remove any large lumps.
– Add the tangzhong, vegetable oil and the foamy yeast mixture.
– Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is absorbed and a shaggy dough is formed.

4. KNEAD THE DOUGH UNTIL SMOOTH AND ELASTIC.

– With the paddle attachment, knead the dough on medium-high speed (setting #4) for 7 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl and gathers in the center. The dough will be a bit sticky, but should also be smooth, springy and elastic enough to stretch thin without tearing. (See TIPS)

Using a stand mixer is highly recommended for ease, but if you prefer to knead by hand, click here for some TIPS.

5. LET THE DOUGH RISE UNTIL ALMOST DOUBLE IN VOLUME. (First rise)

– Scrape the dough into a large, lightly greased bowl.
– With lightly greased fingers, pull up the sides of the dough and fold into the center. Do this a few times to gather the dough into a ball.
– Flip the dough ball so now the top is smooth and greased.
– Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes or until almost double in size.

6. PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH, RESHAPE AND LET RISE UNTIL INCREASED IN VOLUME BY ABOUT HALF. (second rise)

– Punch down the dough, pressing out all the gasses.
– With lightly greased fingers, pull up the sides of the dough and fold into the center. Do this a few times to gather the dough into a ball.
– Flip the dough ball so now the top is smooth and greased.
– Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes or until the dough’s volume has increased by about half.

7. SHAPE THE DOUGH INTO 10 or 12 hotdog buns. (See TIPS)

– Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured countertop.
– Divide the dough into 10 or 12 equal pieces (for jumbo or regular size hotdogs, respectively).
– Shape each piece of dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

– Roll out a ball of dough into a rectangle with a rolling pin about 5-inches wide, making sure to roll out any air bubbles.
– Roll the dough into a snug torpedo.
– Pinch the seams and seal the ends.

8. LET RISE FOR ABOUT 30 to 40 MINUTES OR UNTIL ALMOST DOUBLE IN VOLUME. (Third rise)

– Cover the dough loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap and a tea or kitchen towel.
– Let rest and rise (proof) about 40 minutes, or until just about double in size.

9. WHILE PROOFING, PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 425°F (218°C).

– While proofing the dough, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). (Expect the oven to take about 30 minutes to preheat.)
– Place the oven rack in the center position.

10. SLASH THE PROOFED hotdog buns, and BAKE FOR 11 to 13 MINUTES OR UNTIL DEEP GOLDEN BROWN.

– Slash the loaves with a sharp blade down the length of the loaves about 1/8-inch deep. (See TIPS)
– Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the hotdog buns are deep golden brown and have an internal temperature of 190°F (88°C).
– Place the baked hotdog buns on a cooling rack.

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To store: Keep completely cooled hotdog buns in a sealed container or bread bag at room temperature for up to a week.

Or freeze: Wrap securely in at least 2 layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month.

To reheat from frozen: Take the hotdog buns out of the plastic wrap. Place each frozen bun in a sheet of aluminum foil and wrap, folding the edges together to seal. Place in a 400°F (204°C) oven directly on the center rack for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the hotdog buns are warmed through.

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About this recipe

These homemade hotdog buns are tasty and quite gratifying to make. They are soft, fluffy and freeze well, too. They beat store-bought hotdog buns in every way.

And what makes these hotdog buns extra special is the use of tangzhong.

Tangzhong is a cooked roux of flour and water that is added to the bread dough. The addition of tangzhong helps the bread dough retain moisture. This promotes fluffiness and helps keep the bread soft, light and moist, prolonging its shelf life for days. It is a “secret” ingredient I try to incorporate in all my breads such as my Banh Mi (Vietnamese Baguettes), Japanese Milk Bread, and Pandesal.

TIPS:

Here are 5 helpful TIPS:

1) Some tips about starting your dough:

Use a scale, if you have one. Weight measures are more accurate than volume measures.

– While I sometimes find using volume measures more convenient, in baking, weight measures will give more accurate and consistent results. So if you bake regularly, you really should get a scale. (Preferably one that reads ounces and grams.)

Cool the tangzhong to room temperature.

– Be sure to give to give your tangzhong time to cool. If your tangzhong is still too hot when used, it may harm the yeast.

Make sure your yeast is active.

– Yeast must be alive and active for bread dough to rise. You know your yeast is active if it becomes foamy when stirred into the warm water with a little sugar.
– When activating your yeast, make sure the water is just slightly warm to touch, no warmer than 110°F (49°C). If the yeast doesn’t become foamy within 5 to 10 minutes, throw it out and try again.

– Do not let the yeast sit too long after it has become active and foamy. If the activated yeast sits too long, it may become less effective.

2) Some tips about kneading:

Knead until smooth and stretchy.

– Kneading is key in this recipe for not only getting light, fluffy, soft bread, but also for achieving well-structured hotdog buns that don’t fall apart or disintegrate in your hands. So knead your dough until it is nice and smooth and elastic enough to stretch thin without tearing.

The dough should be able to be stretched until almost translucent without breaking or tearing (the “windowpane” test).

Using the paddle attachment and kneading at a moderately high speed makes kneading this sticky dough until smooth and elastic pretty effortless.
This dough is soft and sticky. That’s normal. Do not add any extra flour or the bread may become dense and heavy.

If the dough did not pass the windowpane test:

If the dough did not pass the windowpane test, let it rest for 10 to 20 minutes. Re-test the dough. If the dough still does not pass the windowpane test, knead for 3 minutes then re-test.
Repeat (rest and knead) until the dough is smooth and elastic enough to pass the windowpane test.

Do not over-knead.

Knead until the dough passes the windowpane test. But if you start to feel the dough becoming firm and less stretchy, stop kneading or else you risk over-kneading your dough. Over-kneaded dough will become a dry and dense loaf with a hard crust.

Kneading by hand:

It is much easier to use a stand mixer for sticky dough. But if you do not have one or choose not to use one, kneading sticky, messy dough by hand is completely do-able. Here’s one way to do it: The French Knead (aka Slap and Fold method)

Mix the shaggy dough with a pastry scraper to ensure there are no dry spots of flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about 20 to 30 minutes to let the flour absorb some of the moisture.
After resting, bring the dough together a bit by mixing it with a pastry scraper before scraping it out onto a clean, smooth counter.
Using fingertips, pick up the top half of the dough, lift the entire mass and then slap the hanging end of the dough onto the counter, letting it stick and anchor itself. In one motion, stretch the dough toward you and then fold it over on itself.
Next pick up the dough from the left side, lift, slap, stretch and fold. Do it again, picking up the dough from the left. (This will rotate the dough for even kneading.)
Repeat the process, taking breaks occasionally to clean up the counter with a pastry scraper.
The dough will be sticky and all over the place at first. That’s OK. Don’t add flour, water or oil in an attempt to conquer the stickiness. Just keep going and the dough will come together eventually.
Knead until the dough passes the windowpane test. The dough will still be sticky, but should be manageable. It should also be smooth and elastic.

Some tips:

– Pick up the dough with fingertips. The less full-handed contact, the easier it will be.
– Clean off the countertop occasionally with a pastry scraper. The cleaner your surface, the smoother the process will go.
– Be patient. The dough will be everywhere for awhile. Just keep the rhythm going even if everything is sticking together. Eventually the dough will stick more to itself and less to the countertop or your fingers.

Feel free to take breaks.

Bread dough continues to build structure (gluten) even while resting. So feel free to take short breaks while kneading. (Be sure to cover your dough with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.)

It takes me about 20 minutes of continuous kneading to reach a smooth windowpane. (Although I have read that others are able to do it in considerably less time.) But I have also gotten beautiful smooth results with a great windowpane by kneading for 5 to 10 minutes and resting the dough for 10 to 20 minutes and repeating this 3 or 4 times.

Here’s one of the great videos that I watched to learn the French Knead method:

3) Shaping your hotdog buns:

Roll the dough into a rectangle about 5-inches wide.
Roll the dough into a snug torpedo.
Pinch the seams and seal the ends.

4) Rising and slashing your hotdog buns:

Let your hotdog buns rise until puffy and just about double in size.
Slash with deliberate strokes with the blade at a slant for straighter, more even slashes.

– Slashing your dough allows your loaves to expand in a controlled way while baking. It helps keep your loaves nice and evenly shaped. (In these images, I am slashing bahn mi. But the method is the same.)

– The little tool above is called a “lame”. But you don’t need a special gadget. Any straight, super sharp edge will do.
– Dip the blade in water before slashing for a smoother cut.

5) Baking times may vary:

– Ovens vary, so times given in recipes are only estimates. Keep an eye on your hotdog buns because it may take more or less time for your them to be done baking.

Get an instant-read thermometer.