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Once you try these fluffy, buttery Brioche Hot Dog Buns, you’ll never want to settle for the store-bought version. Make the dough in just 10 minutes and let it rise to make the buns the same day, or have it slowly rise overnight for baking the next day.
Hot dogs are the ultimate hands-on comfort food; they’re crowd-pleasers and ideal for game day get-togethers, tailgate parties and backyard barbecues.
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need to Make Brioche Hot Dog Buns
- Flour: All-purpose flour
- Instant Yeast: Or active dry yeast. See recipe notes.
- Sugar: Regular or super fine white granulated sugar.
- Eggs: One for the recipe and one for an egg wash before baking.
- Butter: If you use unsalted butter, increase salt by a scant 1/8 teaspoon.
- Kosher Salt
- Milk: Ideally whole milk.
Hot dogs and sausages have come a long way. At local butcher shops and in many grocery stores, you’ll find a wide range of high-quality options. Store-bought hot dog buns are a different story. Too often they’re still the same dry, flavorless hot dog buns that have been around forever. That changes today.
What Makes this an Easy Recipe
Not only are these buttery brioche hot dog buns made from scratch, they’re so easy. No stand mixer or dough hook required! The ultra-simple no-knead brioche dough comes together in minutes. Then it’s just a matter of letting the dough rise naturally (ideally overnight in the refrigerator) and forming your hot dog buns (see step by step photos for shaping them below). They’ll be ready in time for kick-off.
I promise that making homemade hot dog buns is incredibly rewarding, and everyone will appreciate the effort! Welcome these brioche hot dog buns into your life, and you’ll never go back to the store bought variety. I bet your friends and family won’t want to either.
More Must Try Brioche Recipes
- Brioche Buns (An easy bun recipe that’s perfect for hamburgers and sandwiches.)
- Brioche Slider Buns (Ideal for all kinds of sliders, particularly these Pork Belly Sliders.)
- Brioche Rolls (A holiday favorite!)
- Brioche Cinnamon Rolls (The only cinnamon roll recipe you’ll ever need – I promise!)
- Brioche Bread Recipe (Convenient recipe for a single loaf – that’s easily doubled.)
How to Make Brioche Hot Dog Buns
Step 1: Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, and yeast).
Step 2: Heat milk and butter until butter is just melted; set aside to cool slightly.
Step 3: Whisk together warm water and egg. Whisk in milk and butter mixture. Pour warm water mixture into dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until fully combined. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. (Or cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.)
Step 4: Gather dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured work surface; pat into a rectangle and divide into 10 equal dough portions. Tuck edges of each piece under and pinch to seal, then gently roll into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, flatten each ball into a 6-inch rectangle. Roll long edges of rectangle into thirds, as you would a letter, tucking the ends underneath. Place seam-side down on parchment lined baking sheet in 2 rows of 5 buns each, side by side on the baking sheet, leaving about 1/2-inch of space between each bun. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
Step 5: Brush risen hot dog buns with egg wash and bake in a 375˚F oven for 12-15 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking time. Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter while hot; transfer buns to a wire rack to cool.
Brioche Hot Dog Buns
Video
Ingredients
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 453g, or bread flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast see recipe note #1
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons butter divided, see recipe note #2
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 large eggs divided (one for egg wash before baking – see recipe note #5)
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter and milk in a small saucepan until butter has just melted. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
- Whisk together warm water and one egg in a medium bowl. Add warm milk and butter mixture and whisk until combined. Pour over flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until no dry flour remains and you have a sticky, shaggy dough. Cover bowl tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place 2 to 4 hours until dough has doubled in size. Or tightly cover and chill for 12 to 24 hours to rise slowly in the refrigerator. (My preferred way, for the best flavor and texture. I typically give it a head start at room temperature before refrigerating. Just enough to let the dough begin to bubble and rise, 30-60 minutes depending on how warm the kitchen is.)
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather dough into a ball with lightly floured hands, then gently pat into a rectangle. With a sharp knife or dough scraper, divide dough into 10 equal pieces (use a kitchen scale for perfectly even hot dog buns). Shape each piece into a ball by first tucking edges under then pinching together to seal. With a rolling pin, roll one ball into a rectangle about 6 inches long. Fold rectangle into thirds as you would a letter, folding one long side to the center and folding the opposite long side over the top. Turn the dough seam-side down and gently fold the ends under to seal. Repeat with remaining dough balls, placing each bun about 1/2-inch apart on prepared baking sheet in 2 rows of 5 side by side on the baking sheet (see image). Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until puffy and light to the touch, about 1 hour or up to 2 hours if dough is chilled.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375˚F.
- Whisk together remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over buns with a pastry brush. Bake 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through baking time.
- When buns are nearly finished baking, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once you've removed buns from the oven, brush the tops with melted butter while they're still very hot. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- To substitute active dry yeast for instant yeast, increase the amount to 2 teaspoons. In step 3 of the recipe, whisk a teaspoon of sugar into the warm water and sprinkle yeast over the top. Let stand 5-10 minutes until yeast is foamy. Whisk in egg and slightly cooled butter and milk mixture. Add this yeast mixture to dry ingredients and proceed with recipe.
- If using unsalted butter, increase kosher salt by a scant 1/8 teaspoon Note that 2 tablespoons of the butter are for brushing the hot buns at the end.
- If your room temperature isn’t warm enough for the dough to rise, use this tip from Cooks Illustrated magazine to create a proofing oven: place the dough in the covered bowl on the middle shelf of your oven and a loaf or cake pan filled with 3 cups of boiling water on the bottom shelf. Close the oven door and you’ve created a great atmosphere for the dough to rise.
- To freeze unused hot dog buns, allow them to cool completely and transfer to a freezer safe bag or container. Thaw in the bag at room temperature. Use within 2 months.
- If scaling the recipe (2x, 4x), note that you’ll need to reference the number of eggs in the ingredient list for step 3 of the recipe as the quantity is text and won’t change. One egg for the egg wash will likely still be enough if you double the recipe, but you may need a second egg if you make a larger quantity.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these and they came out heavy, not light and fluffy or soft. My dough didnโt look like yours but I know you were making a larger batch. I made 1 batch as it was a test batch for me finding the best brioche hotdog buns, I thought this was it but the recipe seemed to need more liquid, possibly more milk. My dough was on the drier side, which was my first indication something was off, I added a little more milk but I shouldโve added more. I think Iโll have to just use my normal Amish bread recipe and adapt it to hotdog buns. I canโt lie I was a bit disappointed.
Oh no, Jasmine. I’m sorry to hear that making these didn’t go smoothly for you. I promise that the recipe does work as written and I’m wondering if you weighed your flour? The dough shouldn’t be dry. I’d love to help you figure out what happened if you’re up for trying again.
OMG! My kitchen smells soooo good right now. I made the recipe into 8 buns because we get Hoffmans hot dogs from Syracuse, NY and they are too long for conventional buns. I will be making these rolls often. I see lobster rolls this week. Just took them out of the oven. They will each hold two big dogs perfectly. Hard to believe that I am actually excited about having hotdogs and baked beans for dinner. lol. Thank you so much for this recipe.
My pleasure, George! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them – thank you for coming back to let me know!
I cannot get the video to load. I wanted to watch it before I attempt this.
Hi Susan! Hmm…I just tried and was able to play it – maybe give it another try? The video shows making the brioche dough, but you’ll want to see the step-by-step photos in the post for how to form the dough into hot dog buns.
This is an awesome recipe and I’ll be using it again. And again, lol. I screwed up and egg washed the hotdog buns before the second rise, so they didn’t brown as nicely as they should have, but the hamburger buns I made came out perfectly. So glad I found this!
That’s wonderful to hear, Jo! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe.
Beautiful buns! Now I want hot dogs!
haha…thanks, Mimi!
These buns were AMAZING! Milk-bready, soft and fluffyโฆ ๐ I used my bread maker on โdoughโ setting and the recipe works really well.
That’s wonderful to hear, Sandra! Thanks for your cooking notes too.
Thank you for the amazing recipe, Marissa! I am from Australia and have converted the baking temperature to celsius but may I ask is this for fan forced or conventional please? Thank you!
My pleasure, Michelle! The instructions are for a conventional oven.
I’ve made these 4 or 5 times and they come out beautiful every time. When I did the refrigerator rise, 15 hours, they required several hours outside of the fridge to finish the rise and double. Then about 1.5 hours after formed. Worth it every time. Thank you!
Hi there! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe, and thanks so much for your cooking notes!
Great recipe and so easy
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these, Jenny!
Wonderful recipe.bread is so good one could throw away the hot dogs and just have buns.although for a more even hot dog to bun ratio I think next time Iโll make 12 instead of 10 buns.
I love this, Dave! Glad you’re enjoying the recipe and making it your own.
This recipe was easy and delicious.
I’m so glad to hear that you you enjoyed these, Diane!
I love these! I made 6 larger rolls, for Bratwurst & a couple of them arenโt quite big enough. Next time, if making them for Bratwurst, or other larger sausages, I think Iโll double the recipe. But they are great & went so well with the Bratwurst! I donโt think Iโll use another recipe for hot dog & sausage buns. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kathy! So glad you’re enjoying these. Thank you for your cooking notes.
LOVED this easy recipe! I used active yeast and just adjusted per the notes. I think Iโm going to make more today for hamburger rolls!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Dawn! For hamburgers, check out this Brioche Bun recipe!