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.
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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 ⅛ 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 ½-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.
Recipe Video
Brioche Hot Dog Buns
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour 453g, or bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast see recipe note #1
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ 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 ½-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 ⅛ 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.
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 aren’t quite big enough. Next time, if making them for Bratwurst, or other larger sausages, I think I’ll double the recipe. But they are great & went so well with the Bratwurst! I don’t think I’ll 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 I’m going to make more today for hamburger rolls!
I'm so glad you enjoyed these, Dawn! For hamburgers, check out this Brioche Bun recipe!
I made these awhile back... fantastic success. No more trips to the store for a few overpriced, blah tasting rolls. Super easy and great fun to make.
I love to hear this, Marcus! So glad you're enjoying the recipe.
The amount of water and milk is too small. I had to add another 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water to get a reasonable dough. The result is very good!
Hi Jeff! I'm so glad you enjoyed the buns and worked out the moisture issue. There are a few things that can throw off a proper balance of liquid - the most common is an error in measuring the flour - the most accurate way is to measure by weight. Also the temperature and humidity where the flour is stored can be an issue as can the type of flour (high gluten flour for example requires more liquid). Otherwise the liquid amount listed in the recipe should work well - I've tested it many times.
I made these today. I was skeptical about how they would turn out-no kneading of the dough. You have great reviews, so I went for it. I'm glad I did. This will be my go to roll recipe! They look like your photo, taste delicious, and were extremely easy to make. They were a little sticky, but with the flour on the hands resolved it. I shaped my rolls by hand-very soft dough. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Will be making them again soon.
Hi Sandy! I'm so glad you enjoyed these. Thank you for your cooking notes!
An excellent recipe. Can't fault the taste or Texture.
So glad you enjoyed them, Lisa!
Yeah...no need to try any other recipe EVER. These were PERFECT for our brauts tonight. I will likely eat one for breakfast and can't wait to try them with burgers. 🤤🤤🤤
You made my day, Amanda! So glad you're enjoying these.
I tried this recipe today and it is the absolute best. I will never buy hot dog buns again or any other buns for that matter. This is a keeper. Thank you!
My pleasure, Eileen! So glad these are a hit.
These were so simple and wonderfully delicious! My professional taste tester (my husband) said they would be great as just a roll with butter. He wanted me to keep the extras for him to enjoy as a dinner roll. I’ll definitely be making these again as well as trying the brioche hamburger bun recipe Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, Stacy! I'm so glad these were such a hit with you and your husband. Thank you for coming back to let me know!
I just put my dough in to rise. So far I love how simple the recipe is. I watched your video after I made my dough. In the video both eggs were added to the dough mixture. I followed the written recipe and only used one. Hopefully that is correct
Hi Deborah! One egg in the dough and another for the egg wash is correct for this recipe. The dough shown in the video is a larger batch (good catch! 😉 ) that I use for my Brioche Cinnamon Rolls.
This recipe was absolutely fantastic the ultimate perfect soft sweet moist hot dog bun! Easy to follow recipe and turned out perfect first time and will always use it, I used them as a sub bun with tuna and egg besides European wieners so versatile, looking forward to making hamburger buns!
aww...I love to hear this, Kim! Thank you for coming back to let me know. My Brioche Bun Recipe is just right for hamburger buns and you'll find some tips for shaping them.
This was my first time making homemade buns and they turned out great! I used active dry yeast and did the overnight rise in the fridge. Great flavor and texture. I will never buy grocery store buns again!
Thanks fantastic, Kate! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Adorable and pretty easy! Not at all sweet. Great toastable texture! I really appreciated the photos of the process
Thanks Marissa
My pleasure, Sheila! I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipe!
Nothing better than a homemade brioche bun for hot dogs and hamburgers Marissa! These look just perfect! I've got to try your recipe. I know we'd love these!
So excited for you to taste these, Mary Ann!
As a huge brioche enthusiast, I support all your ideas! Another one excellent - they look absolutely perfect, delicious, and rewarding. Look forward to seeing what you come up with next!
Thanks so much, Ben! I do have a couple more coming your way this year!
I absolutely love brioche bread, but I've never eaten it in hot dog form. What a fun idea, Marissa! And these would be perfect for summer cookouts - we've been talking about grilling hot dogs over the fire pit recently. I'm thinking I should make a batch of these buns for the occasion!
That sounds so fun, David! I think these buns would be perfect for that.
So soft and tender...they came out perfect and in time for the bbq season :-))
Thank you, Angie!