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. 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. 🙂 If you liked this New England hot dog buns recipe (lobster roll buns), don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address in the subscription box below the recipe card (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YOU TUBE and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
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.
