Hokkaido Hot Dog Bun | Recipe
A recipe for how to make Hot Dog bun, also famously known as Korean Hot Dog bread.
Making these hot dog buns bring me back happy memories of a time when my hubby and I lived at the top of a giant hill in San Francisco, a hill so steep that our next-door neighbors would stick their heads out to cheer us on as we hike up the hill. Every Saturday morning, we would go for a little walk down the street to this bakery called Fancy Wheat Field Bakery for freshly baked sweet buns and my favorite, the hot dog bun. We would hike home with steaming fresh-baked buns in our arms before we can enjoy them to pre-burn the calorie and use the buns as our motivation to hike up the hill. 😂
These hot dog buns are made up of beef hot dogs that are wrapped in incredibly soft bread, shaped into a beautiful twist, and topped with a green onion glazed. It is so good, I can’t stop eating them fresh out of the oven. Enjoy and don’t forget to share yours with me.
Ingredients
This recipe makes a total of 8 hot dog buns.
Dough
The original recipe is from the King Arthur flour website.
- 3 tbsp. of water
- 3 tbsp. of oat milk (or any milk of your choice)
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup of coconut butter (or any butter of your choice)
- 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. of coconut milk powder (or any other milk powder of your choice)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1 pkg of RapidRise instant yeast
- 1/2 cup of oat milk
- 1 large egg
Topping
- 1 pkg of beef hot dog, ~8 hot dogs
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of canola oil (or any unflavored oil)
- Optional: Mozarella cheese or cheddar cheese
Procedures
Note: I know it seems like a lot of steps, but trust me the end product is worth it.
1. Combine the first four Dough ingredients into a saucepan and whisk over low heat until the mixture become thick like a roux. Set it aside and let it cool. The roux will be a little oily, unlike normal roux due to the addition of the butter. The original recipe doesn’t call for melted butter when making the roux, but since I am lazy, I just added to this step to save time. Trust me the dough will still turn out delicious.
Tip #1: We are making the bread starter known as Tangzhong. What is that you may wonder? Check out the Science Lesson section to learn more about Tangzhong.
2. Into a bread machine, add the rest of the dough ingredients along with the roux you made. Set the bread machine to dough setting and wait for the dough to be done. Isn’t that easy?
Tip #2: If you don’t have a bread machine, you can do this step by hand or with a stand mixer. Add the rest of the dough ingredients along with the roux you made into a mixing bowl and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a wet towel, and let it double in size (60–90 minutes).
3. Heat up the canola oil in a small pot until it is slightly hot and pour it over the thinly sliced green onions.
Tip #3: If you have a microwave, combine the green onions and oil into a microwave-proof bowl. Microwave it for 1 minute.
4. Add the hot dogs to a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Once boil, drain and let them cool.
5. Once the dough is done, punched it, divided the dough into 8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a dough ball and cover with a wet towel.
Tip #4: The wet towel is to prevent the dough from drying out while you roll out the dough. Feel free to skip this step if you are a ninja at rolling out dough.
6. Roll each dough into a rectangular shape with a length slightly longer than the hot dog and a width wide enough to wrap the hot dog.
7. Place the hot dog on the rolled out dough and fold in the dough until the hot dog is fully covered. Fold in the two ends. Pinch the ends and openings at the end to fully seal in the hot dog.
Tip #5: I have tried this with just pinching the ends and it works out really well. If you know how to roll an eggroll, you can use the same technique to wrap the hot dog. That method works well too.
8. With a sharp scissor cut the hot dog dough log into ~8–10 sections (avoid cutting all the way through) about 0.5 inches thick at an angle. DO NOT cut the log all the way through.
Tip #6: Cutting at an angle is the key to get that beautiful twist shape. If the dough sticks to your scissors, lightly dust your scissor with a little bit of flour.
9. Spread out the cut sections, moving each section left and right to form a flat surface. Maangchi has an awesome video on how to do steps 6–8.
10. Place the shaped hot dog buns onto a baking sheet into an oven with a bowl of hot water and/or oven light on to rise for a second time.
11. Once the dough doubles in size again (15–30min), remove them from the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the meantime, top with the green onion oil and cheese (optional).
Tip #7: For a nice glossy golden color like the restaurant, brush your buns with egg wash (a mixture of 1 egg and some water) prior to baking.
12. Bake at 350°F for 10–15 minutes or until nicely golden and a toothpick insert comes out clean.
13. Enjoy with some mustard and ketchup or some of your favorite hot sauce for a spicy kick. 😉
Science Lessons
What is Tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a method of making a thick slurry from a mixture of flour and some sort of liquid, often water or milk, which is then added to the bread batter to make soft, moist, and tender bread. Many websites and bakers claim that this method is the key to making soft yeast bread like the infamous Hokkaido bread, also known as Japanese milk bread.
Tangzhong origin
The origin of the Tangzhong method is debatable. Some claim Tangzhong originated in Japan, while others claim that it is a Chinese origin. Which one is correct?
Tangzhong method is similar to what is known as the Yudane method; a method that some claim was invented by Mr. Saito of the Japanese Flour Company. Both Tangzhong and Yudane methods use the technique of making a thick slurry from a mixture of mixing flour and some sort of liquid to make soft and moist bake bread. The difference between these two methods is the way how the slurry is made.
The slurry of Tangzhong is made using a ratio of 1:5 of flour and liquid, and Yudane uses a ratio of 1:1 of flour and liquid. The slurry of the Tangzhong method is made by bringing the mixture of flour and liquid into a boil until the mixture thickens, while the slurry of Yudane is made by pouring hot liquid into the flour to scald it. Needless to say, both methods produce soft and tender bread.
How do Tangzhong and Yudane methods work?
Both Tangzhong and Yudane methods work by pregelatinizing the starches in the flour, which reduces gluten formation and increases water absorption. Reducing gluten formation results in a tender and soft bread. Increasing water absorption results in a less sticky and easier to knead dough, a higher risen bread, and a bread that stays fresh and soft longer.
When it comes to baking cakes and bread, starches play a very important role. Combine with water, they can interpenetrate the gluten network and break it, which tenderize the dough. In addition, they help form the rigid bulk of the walls that trap the carbon dioxide bubbles, which then get popped by the water vapor and turn into a continuous spongy network of connected holes. These holes are what we look for when cutting into airy and well-risen bread.
You see, starches don’t dissolve well in cold water, but when heated up, they become water-hungry. When heated, their molecular bonds are weakened and thus water gets absorbed into the starch granules, making these starch granules puffer. As temperature increases, the puffer these starch granules get. Once the temperature reaches a boiling point, the granules will burst, releasing the pregelatinized starches back out. This is the stage when your flour and liquid mixture thickens, turning into what is known as a roux.
The pregelatinized starches absorb more water and hold onto the water longer than normal dough, thus create moister bread that stays moist longer. More water means a moister bread, and the longer the water stays, the longer the bread stays moist.
References
- BakeWith Paws. “Yudane vs Tangzhong (Water Roux) Method.” BAKE WITH PAWS, 9 Apr. 2020, www.bakewithpaws.com/2020/04/yudane-vs-tangzhong-water-roux-method.html.
- Corriher, Shirley O. CookWise: No More Failed Recipes: the Hows and Whys of Cooking. William Morrow, 1997.
- Hamel, PJ. “Introduction to Tangzhong.” King Arthur Flour, 26 Mar. 2018, www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2018/03/26/introduction-to-tangzhong.
- McGee, Harold. McGee on Food & Cooking: an Encyclopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture. Hodder & Stoughton, 2004.
- Wendy, et al. “Tangzhong Bread Recipe: Perfect Pain Au Lait Sandwich Bread.” Pastry Chef Online, 6 Mar. 2020, pastrychefonline.com/tangzhong-bread/.
