Chinese Hot Dog Buns

Did anyone else also grow up eating Chinese Hot Dog Buns?

My mom used to make Chinese Hot Dog Buns for me all the time for school for breakfast, and it is still one of my favorite Asian bun recipes.

Hot dog wrapped in fluffy and soft milk bread, what is there not to love about Chinese Hot Dog Buns? 

The secret to fluffy, soft, and tender Chinese Hot Dog Buns  is “Tangzhong.”

Do you ever wonder why Asian bread is always so soft yet slightly chewy? It is because of Tangzhong.

What is Tangzhong? It is a roux made with flour and water, which helps keep the bread extra moist and soft. Adding in Tangzhong guarantees that your Milk Bread will come out perfect every time.

After you make your Tangzhong, make sure it is completely cooled down before adding it to the rest of the ingredients; I recommend making it the night before to help you save time.

Most of us don’t have a stand mixer, and I wanted to make this Chinese Hot Dog Buns recipe accessible to everyone so that we will use our hands throughout the process.

Not going to lie; this Chinese Dog Bun recipe takes ALOT of love and patience. It is not hard, but there are alot of resting times between and alot of hand kneading.

My mom and I practiced without a stand mixer EIGHT times before filming our recipe, so I promise this recipe is fail-proof and ready for you to try.

However, if you have a stand mixer at home, I also have the recipe for a stand mixer down below! 

Ingredients 

• 2 ½ cup (360 g) flour 
• 3 tablespoon (36 g) sugar 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 
• 50 g water 
• 1 egg 
• 60 g milk 
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature 
• 8 hot dogs 
• Egg yolk mixture: 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon milk 
• 2 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds 

Tang Zhong 

• 2 tablespoon flour 
• ½ cup (114 g) water 

Tang Zhong 

1. Mix two tablespoons of flour and ½ cup of water. Once combined, bring it to a simmer. 
2. Simmer on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until it thickens and becomes a roux. Remove from heat and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2 hours or until it has thoroughly cooled down. You can prepare the step the night before to save time. 

Standmixer Steps for Milk Bread: 

1. Add flour, sugar, salt, yeast, egg, milk, chilled tangzhong, and water in a stand mixer. Mix until thoroughly combined; this will take around 10 minutes; the dough may seem sticky at first, but keep mixing until it is thoroughly combined. 
2. Next, add in room temperature butter, turn on the stand mixer, and mix for another 10-15 minutes or until combined. You can check if the dough is ready by stretching the dough; it should be elastic and see-through. Refer to Youtube Video to get a sample of how to test the dough. 
3. Once the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, form it into a ball, cover it with a damp towel, and let it rest for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

Hand Mixing Steps for Milk Bread: 

1. Add flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to a big mixing bowl. Mix everything till combined. 
2. Next, add egg, milk, water, and tangzhong; use a chopstick Stir until flakey and knead until it forms into a ball. It will be sticky, but that is normal; as long as you can form it into a ball, you can move on to the next step. 

1. Lightly dust flour on a clean surface and keep kneading the dough until smooth. A method that helps speed up this process is to stretch the dough forward and then fold it back. Repeat this process until the dough is no longer sticky (around 10 minutes). 

1. Cut butter into small pieces and fold it into the dough. The dough will become sticky again; keep kneading until it is smooth and no longer sticking to your fingers. A method that works well is throwing the dough on the floured surface to eliminate air bubbles. This process may take another 10 minutes. 

1. Once the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, form it into a ball, cover with a damp towel, and let it rest for 1 hour or until it doubles in size. 

Hot Dog Buns: 

1. Punch out the air bubble and cut the dough into eight even pieces; cover with a damp towel to prevent the dough from drying out.  
2. Take one piece of the dough, and flatten it with your hand. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, pushing out all the bubbles. Roll the dough to an oval shape, around 5 inches lengthwise. 
3. Next, Roll the dough down from the top, making sure there are no air bubbles, and pinch the opening close.
4. Roll out the dough until it is double the size of the hot dog length-wise.
5. Wrap the dough around the hot dog, tucking in the end, and have the end part facing down. 
6. Cover with a damp towel, and rest the hot dog’s buns for a 30 minutes
7. After 30 minutes, brush on the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle on black sesame seeds. 
8. Bake at 385F for 15 minutes. 

Print Pin Recipe

Chinese Hot Dog Buns

Did anyone else also grow up eating Chinese Hot Dog Buns? My mom used to make Chinese Hot Dog Buns for me all the time for school for breakfast, and it is still one of my favorite Asian bun recipes. Hot dog wrapped in fluffy and soft milk bread, what is there not to love about Chinese Hot Dog Buns?

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Dinner, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American, Asian, Chinese, Taiwanese

Yield: 8 hot Dogs

Materials

• 2 ½ cup 360 g flour
• 3 tablespoons 36 g sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 50 g water
• 1 egg
• 60 g milk
• 2 tablespoons butter room temperature
• 8 hot dogs
• Egg yolk mixture: 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Tang Zhong

• 2 tablespoons 16g flour
• ½ cup 114 g water

Instructions

Tangzhong

• Mix two tablespoons of flour and ½ cup of water. Once combined, bring it to a simmer.
• Simmer on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until it thickens and becomes a roux. Remove from heat and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2 hours or until it has thoroughly cooled down. You can prepare the step the night before to save time.

Milk Bread:

• Add flour, sugar, salt, yeast, egg, milk, chilled tangzhong, and water in a stand mixer. Mix until thoroughly combined; this will take around 10 minutes; the dough may seem sticky at first, but keep mixing until it is thoroughly combined.
• Next, add in room temperature butter, turn on the stand mixer, and mix for another 10-15 minutes or until combined. You can check if the dough is ready by stretching the dough; it should be elastic and see-through. Refer to Youtube Video to get a sample of how to test the dough.
• Once the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, form it into a ball, cover it with a damp towel, and let it rest for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

Final Steps:

• Punch out the air bubble and cut the dough into eight even pieces; cover with a damp towel to prevent the dough from drying out.
• Take one piece of the dough, and flatten it with your hand. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, pushing out all the bubbles. Roll the dough to an oval shape, around 5 inches lengthwise
• Next, Roll the dough down from the top, making sure there are no air bubbles, and pinch the opening close
• Roll out the dough until it is double the size of the hot dog length-wise.
• Wrap the dough around the hot dog, tucking in the end, and have the end part facing down.
• Cover with a damp towel, and rest the hot dog’s buns for a 30 minutes
• After 30 minutes, brush on the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle on black sesame seeds.