CHINESE HOT DOG BUNS MARCH 14, 2015 BY SARAH 65 COMMENTS

home » recipes » bread & pizza » chinese hot dog buns CHINESE HOT DOG BUNS MARCH 14, 2015 BY SARAH 65 COMMENTS Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com 3K+ The Chinese Hot Dog Bun. The Asian bakery classic, the food of my childhood, and the inevitable result of years of cultural assimilation. As I got older, I came to realize how…actually disappointing these Chinese hot dog buns often are. After a long car ride from Chinatown, a cold hot dog of questionable origin wrapped in bread that has gone slightly soggy is not good eating. Very quickly, the hot dog bun went from being all I wanted from the Chinese bakery, to the last thing I wanted…replaced by the likes of the much more palatable coconut buns and pineapple buns. Until this past weekend (when we baked these suckers), I hadn’t had a hot dog bun in over 10 years. After my mother discovered her cousin’s brilliantly easy Asian milk bread recipe, however, it was time to revisit this classic, and really do it up right. As I see it, there are three main problems with the typical Chinatown hot dog bun: 1. The quality of the hot dog: not good. 2. The dough is usually wrapped around an uncooked hotdog before baking. The result? A total lack of flavor and a rubbery texture. 3. If they put them out in the morning, and you get there at 3:00 in the afternoon, you’ve already lost. Alas, the Chinese hot dog bun was long overdue for redemption. In our version, you choose what brand of hot dogs you want to use. We sear them before they get wrapped in dough, and it makes all the difference. The result is a what I’ve always wanted a hot dog bun to be. Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com One can also get pretty creative with this concept, add some ingredients and make some cool hot dog recipes – maybe just some foreshadowing but for now, on with it! You’ll need: 2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature) 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon milk (at room temperature) 1 large egg (at room temperature) 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup cake flour 3 1/2 cups bread flour 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon oil 12 hot dogs Egg wash: whisk together 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water Simple syrup: 2 teaspoons of sugar dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (add it in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer to “stir.” Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together. After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size. Check out our original milk bread recipe for photos of this process! In the meantime, heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the hot dogs, and allow them to crisp slightly and get some color on them. Set aside on a plate to cool. After the hour of proofing, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take each piece of dough and roll it into a 10-12 inch rope, keeping the middle thicker than the ends. Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Roll the rope around a hot dog, tucking in the ends. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (keep the buns 2-3 inches apart). Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Repeat until all the buns are assembled. Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and allow the buns to rise in a warm place for another hour. The buns should close to double in size. Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Brush with egg wash, and bake the buns for 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and immediately brush the buns with sugar water. This last step gives them that signature Chinese bakery shine. Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Chinese Hot Dog Buns, by thewoksoflife.com Print Chinese Hot Dog Buns Prep Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 3 hours Yield: 12 buns Ingredients 2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature) 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon milk (at room temperature) 1 large egg (at room temperature) 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup cake flour 3 1/2 cups bread flour 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon oil 12 hot dogs Egg wash: whisk together 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water Simple syrup: 2 teaspoons of sugar dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (add it in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer to “stir.” Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together. After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size. In the meantime, heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the hot dogs, and allow them to crisp slightly and get some color on them. Set aside on a plate to cool. After the hour of proofing, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take each piece of dough and roll it into a 10-12 inch rope, keeping the middle thicker than the ends. Roll the rope around a hot dog, tucking in the ends. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (keep the buns 2-3 inches apart). Repeat until all the buns are assembled. Cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and allow the buns to rise in a warm place for another hour. The buns should close to double in size. Brush with egg wash, and bake the buns for 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and immediately brush the buns with sugar water. This last step gives them that signature Chinese bakery shine. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Beef Rendang Savory Mooncakes Cashew Shrimp Stir-fry 161Share Tweet 3.1kPin 17Share 1Share 3K+ FILED UNDER: BREAD & PIZZA, CHINESE BAKERY, RECIPES LEAVE A REPLY Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment Name * Email * Website POST COMMENT 65 COMMENTS Tiffany says May 31, 2016 at 12:05 PM Hi! I’ve been making these for a while and always met with success except today…the dough is sticky and won’t rise. The yeast is fresh so I’m not sure where I went wrong. I did use a medium speed instead of stir (I didn’t realize stir meant the lowest setting…). Could that be why the dough is so sticky and not rising properly? Not sure how to save it either…any tips? Reply Sarah says May 31, 2016 at 4:13 PM Hey Tiffany, what’s the weather like today? Sometimes, when it gets a bit humid, it can cause the dough to get a bit sticky, and you might need to add more flour to get it to the right consistency. I would just add a bit more flour a couple tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together. Reply Tiffany says June 7, 2016 at 3:52 PM Hmm, I live in London, from what I remember, that day did feel a bit muggy and stuffy…I think towards the end I was so worried about it not rising, I over-rised and it flatted when it came out of the oven…will try again next time! Reply Kkw says May 11, 2016 at 10:44 AM Is the heavy cream used to add air bubbles in the dough or just to increase liquid and fat content for tastier texture. Can I substitute it with milk and butter if it’s the second one? Reply Sarah says May 14, 2016 at 10:03 PM I believe some people have tried the milk and butter substitute with good results, but I’m not positive. This recipe is really foolproof if followed exactly as written, so I would suggest using heavy cream if at all possible! Reply Connie says May 7, 2016 at 2:34 AM Hi. If I use kitchenaid mixer, how long does it take for kneading? Which speed should I use? Thanks in advance :) Reply Sarah says May 14, 2016 at 9:53 PM Hi Connie, we actually use a kitchen-aid mixer in the recipe! Just put on the dough hook attachment, set the speed to “stir” (i.e. the lowest speed on the machine), and knead for 15 minutes. Just follow the recipe instructions, and you’ll be fine. Reply Cherrie says May 16, 2016 at 7:40 PM I’ve followed this recipe exactly and I thought it ended up great! I thought it tasted very close to what a Chinese sausage bun would in a bakery. The only thing I substituted was the bread flour with all-purpose flour and it still tasted fine – just a little more dense (which was fine by me because I knew it wasn’t bread flour). However, my problem was the kneading of the dough in the mixer. I have a KA stand-up as well and when I set it up to knead for 15 mins and came back… it still was very sticky and not as kneaded as a typical bread recipe would. I stirred it for another 10 mins and got impatient so I took it out the bowl and kneaded it by hand for another 5 mins. Like I said, the recipe was fine otherwise and tasted great, but I was wondering what I did wrong with the mixer? I shouldn’t have to knead by hand right? Reply Sarah says May 19, 2016 at 12:13 AM Hey Cherrie, it could have to do with the humidity levels in your kitchen. Sometimes you might need to add a little more flour if the dough is still sticky! Reply Rosie says April 7, 2016 at 9:25 AM Hi Sarah, By chance, I stumbled upon this website, and I’ve tried several recipes since. They all turn out fantastic! I love Chinese hot dog buns, and can’t wait to try making this. Would I be able to use a hand mixer for this recipe? Reply Sarah says April 8, 2016 at 2:53 PM A hand mixer…I don’t think those electric hand mixers are great for kneading dough. If you don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment (I actually don’t have one in my apartment either!), you can just knead by hand and increase the kneading time a bit. Reply Liane says March 6, 2016 at 11:07 PM I love your website and it was by chance that I found it when searching for a pineapple bun recipe. My hubby loves the Chinese bakery hot dog buns and I decided this would be the first recipe to try out and surprise him. Followed the recipe, but found the dough really sticky so had to add more flour. Didn’t want to add too much as I was afraid it might ruin the texture, so kind of worked with it being semi-sticky. They turned out awesome and just like what you’d find at the bakery. My hubby ate two right off the bat when they were still slightly warm. Q: I’ve read many replies with the similar problem of the dough being sticky. After the first proofing and turning out onto a floured surface, do you normally continue to add flour until a smooth ball forms with no stickyiness and then cut it into pieces? Your pictures show smooth dough surfaces during shaping and just wondering if that is what you do. I will be making the pineapple buns tomorrow. Hopefully they will turn out just as great as the hot dog ones. Thanks for sharing all these great recipes. Reply Liane says March 6, 2016 at 11:22 PM Just read your milk bread recipe and it described adding more flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough comes together. So I should have no problems with the pineapple buns tomorrow. 😊 Reply Judy says March 8, 2016 at 8:58 PM Hi Liane, great that you’ve found the answer to your question. Did the pineapple buns turn out to your liking? Reply Liane says March 9, 2016 at 10:55 AM Yes, they turned out great! Family and friends loved the pineapple and hot dog buns. They said they were better than what you’d get at the Chinese bakeries. So thank you for these great recipes (simple to follow and love the pictures that accompany them)! Just signed up for your email updates and will be trying out your Cha Sui Baos next. Reply Sarah says March 9, 2016 at 6:45 PM That’s awesome Liane! Let us know how it goes with the Char siu bao if you get a chance. :) Coosyasya says March 3, 2016 at 5:39 PM Hi Judy, can you share on how to make the sugar water for the shiny signature effect? tks! Reply Judy says March 3, 2016 at 7:09 PM Hi Coosyasya, you need to dissolve about a tablespoon of sugar in 1 tablespoon water. Reply Coosyasya says March 17, 2016 at 11:03 PM Thanks for the reply and tips! Can’t wait to try your recipe. Reply Elizabeth says February 20, 2016 at 3:45 PM Hi Sarah, thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I just made them today and they where amazing although I have to practice more the rolling technic. Reply Elizabeth says February 20, 2016 at 3:46 PM I ment technique Reply Sarah says February 24, 2016 at 1:38 PM glad you liked them Elizabeth! I’m craving one right now. :) Reply Chip says December 20, 2015 at 11:22 PM I made these tonight. They took me right back to being in Changchun and Beijing. The flavors were perfect! One question I am hoping you can answer – In China they leave these out without refrigeration? Again – thanks for all the terrific recipes! Reply Sarah says December 24, 2015 at 10:27 AM Hey Chip, I can see how they’d leave them out in China. Those hot dogs have so many preservatives! I personally like to refrigerate them and then heat them up in the microwave for 30 seconds. Reply « CLICK TO SEE OLDER COMMENTS