Hotdog and Hamburger Buns

This recipe is a modification of the recipe on the King Arthur Banking site for Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns. These buns turned out great and the size fit the hotdogs perfectly. Lots of goodies fit easily into these hotdog buns with the hotdog.

Makes 18 Buns

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons (14 g)instant or active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup (113 g) warm water, 105°F to 115°F
• 8 tablespoons powdered buttermilk
• 2 cups (454g) warm water, 105°F to 115°F
• 2 tablespoons (27 g) vegetable oil or avocado oil
• 2 teaspoons table salt
• 6 to 7 1/2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour (720g to 900g)
• 1 tablespoon to 3 tablespoons of water, as needed
• Sesame seeds
• Flour for kneading
• Oil for oiling bowl and work surface

Tools:

A 2 large bowls, wooden spoon, or Danish dough whisk, parchment paper, 2 baking sheet pans, pastry brush, small bowl, two damp kitchen towels or plastic wrap, bowl scraper or bench knife, timer, digital thermometer, wire racks for cooling, spatula

Instructions

1. Oil a large bowl and set aside to use when the dough has been kneaded.
2. In another large bowl, add the 1/2 cup warm water, then stir in the sugar to dissolve it. Add the yeast and stir it in.
3. Add the 2 cups warm water, oil, salt, 3 cups (360 g) of flour and powered buttermilk to the yeast mixture. Set your timer for 2 minutes. Beat the mixture vigorously with the wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk for the 2 minutes.
4. Stir in flour 1/4 cup (about 30g) at a time, to the dough mixture, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Heavily flour your work surface. Turn the slack dough onto the work surface and knead until you have a smooth elastic dough. You will need to keep flouring your work surface as this dough is very slack. “Because this dough is so slack, you may find that a bowl scraper or bench knife can be helpful in scooping up the dough and folding it over on itself.” This took about 10 to 15 minutes
6. Once the dough is kneaded, place the ball of dough in the oiled bowl and turn the dough over to coat the entire ball of dough.
7. Cover the bowel with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in at room temperature until doubled. It takes about an hour.
8. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
9. Once dough has finished rising, lightly oil your work surface and turn the dough onto it.
10. Using your bench knife or bowl scraper, gently divide the dough into 18 pieces by first dividing the dough into thirds (3 pieces), then spilt in half the thirds (6 pieces), last divide the halves into thirds (18 pieces).
11. Shape each piece of dough into a ball. “For hamburger buns, flatten the balls into 3 1/2″ disks. For hot-dog buns, roll the balls into cylinders, 4 1/2″ in length. Flatten the cylinders slightly; dough rises more in the center so this will give a gently rounded top versus a high top.”
12. For soft-sided buns, place them on a parchment covered baking sheet a half inch apart so they’ll grow together when they rise. If you want crisper buns, place them 3″ apart.
13. Cover the buns with a damp kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
14. Fifteen minutes before you want to bake your buns, preheat your oven to 400°F. Set up the wire racks to cool the buns. I place my racks so they have several inches of space underneath them.
15. Just before baking, lightly brush the tops of the buns with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
16. Bake the buns for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches reaches 190°F when measured with a digital thermometer
17. After removing the buns from the oven, using a spatula, gently transfer the cooked buns to wire racks for cooling. Cooling on the wire racks will prevent a soggy bottom.
18. To serve: split the buns in half and toast or griddle.

Notes:

Store leftover buns at room temperature in an airtight container for several days or freeze for longer storage.

I used up my white sesame seeds and then used black sesame seeds. The black sesame looked prettier to me.