These Homemade Hot Dog Buns will take your barbecue to the next level! They are soft and fluffy and way better than store bought!
Love making bread from scratch? Try this Whole Wheat Bread, Homemade Hamburger Buns or No Knead Artisan Bread next!
Ever since I snagged my Mom’s Homemade Buns recipe, I knew the dough would be a perfect match for hot dogs.
Store bought buns are dry, flavorless, and who knows how long they’ve been on the shelf! Once you make these, your family will be begging you to make them for every barbecue.
Serve them up with these Air Fryer Hot Dogs or use them as a base for these Meatball Subs.
How to make hot dog buns:
For the best results, I recommend two full rises. Buns eaten fresh can get away with shorter rise times, but longer rises give you that fluffy texture that holds up for days. Here are the basics (see the complete recipe down in the recipe card!):
- Stir together some flour, yeast, sugar and salt — instant or quick yeast is required for this method. See my tips below for swapping in active dry yeast.
- Stir in the warm water and melted butter — this can easily be done with a spoon or whisk. Ensure your water is warm but not hot! We don’t want to kill the yeast.
- Gradually stir in the remaining flour until a soft dough forms. The key is not to add too much flour — stop when the dough is just past sticky. It should be incredibly soft and smooth.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place (I like to preheat my oven for 3-5 minutes, then turn it off) for 1.5 hours.
- Roll out your hot dog buns (I roll mine the same way I roll my regular buns, just longer and thinner — about 6″ by 1.5-2″) and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1″ apart so they touch as they rise and bake.
- Let your buns rise until doubled again — about 45-60 minutes.
- Bake until golden. You can brush the tops with an egg wash before baking, but I skip it as it can sometimes cause deflating. A brush of melted butter after baking works great instead!
Can I use active dry yeast in these hot dog buns?
Yes! You’ll just need to proof it first by dissolving it in the warm water before adding to your flour mixture (active dry yeast has larger granules that must be fully dissolved), and you may find it takes a little longer to rise.
Can I use whole wheat flour in these hot dog buns?
Absolutely! I use whole wheat flour all the time for our family! You can swap in anywhere from 2-3 cups for a lighter roll all the way up to 100% whole wheat. I personally find 50% whole wheat gives the best of both worlds: extra fiber but still fluffy!
How to store homemade hot dog buns:
Store at room temperature:
Store in an airtight bag at room temperature for up to 2 days. They’re best fresh, so make them as close to serving day as possible. After day two, reheat in a 200-250°F oven to revive that fresh-baked fluffiness.
How to freeze buns and bread:
Let cool completely (4-6 hours), then freeze in an airtight bag for up to 3 months. To thaw, set on a paper towel-lined plate at room temperature for an hour, or microwave on low — just don’t overheat or they’ll dry out.
What to serve in these hot dog buns:
Obviously hot dogs are the classic, but don’t stop there! A few of our favorites:
- Smoked sausages and peppers
- this insanely flavorful Italian Beef, just be sure to toast them first!
- Use them in a chili cheese dog casserole, knife and fork required!
Hot Dog Buns
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 6-7 cups all purpose flour, (you can sub in whole wheat) divided
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant or quick yeast
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2½ cups warm water, (noticeably warm but not hot)
- ½ cup melted unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer if you're using one), stir together 1 cup of flour, sugar, yeast and salt.
- Add water and butter and stir until combined.
- Add two more cups of flour and stir until combined.
- Place bowl in stand mixer, and gradually add remaining 3-4 cups flour, 1/2-1 cup at a time. As your dough gets closer to finishing, reduce the amount of flour you add at once so that you don't add too much. You can make this dough by hand as well — just stir in flour gradually until you can no longer use a spoon, then knead it in by hand, just until a soft and smooth dough forms. We want to stop adding flour when our dough is just past the sticky point.
- Cover and place dough in a warm spot for 1.5 hours or until doubled (I like to turn my oven on to preheat for a few minutes, then turn it off before placing my dough inside). Punch dough down.
- Uncover dough and divide into 4 even sections. Divide each section into 5 equal sections so you have 20 pieces. Keep remaining pieces covered to prevent drying out while you roll each bun. (For smaller hot dog buns, divide each section into 6 pieces, for a total of 24 buns)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball, pinching the seams in the back and rolling until smooth. Place ball on the counter and roll back and forth with both hands to make a cylinder that is roughly 5-6" by 1-1.5". For hot dog buns that are not as thick, press down to flatten slightly. Line up on baking sheets about 1-1.5" apart.
- Once your hot dog buns are all rolled, let rise for 45-60 minutes until doubled again.
- Bake at 400℉ for 15-20 minutes, until light golden brown. Optional: brush wth melted butter upon removing from the oven.
- Let cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Tiffanie says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I make all my own bread, and we make and smoke polish sausage dogs. My bread is to heavy for buns, your is amazing. Putting meatballs in them for dinner.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Tiffanie! I’m glad you liked it!
KM says
These buns are AMAZING!
Past attempts at hot dog buns have always failed but I really didn’t want to go to the store so I thought I’d give this recipe a whirl. Unlike every other try, these are soft and fluffy and just plain perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks KM! I’m so glad you liked them!
Rebecca says
I halved the recipe to make 10 and added an egg wash and sesame seeds because we like them. Delish!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Rebecca!
Renee says
HI Ashley,
Could I use margarine instead of butter? I have some family members that can’t have butter
I can’t wait to try these!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Definitely! It will work just fine 🙂
Tabetha says
Just finished making the dough, it’s really humid here so I had to add more flour to get to just past sticky. Really hoping it didn’t ruin it but I guess we’ll see after they’re baked up.
Ashley Fehr says
I’m sure they will be great! The texture is the most important thing 🙂
Tanya B says
Followed the recipe to a T! Not even in the oven ten minutes and the bottoms burnt! Man I was so mad! I was excited to make my husband homemade hotdog buns for camping 😪
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Tanya! I’m sorry that happened, but it sounds like a problem with your oven and not with the recipe.
Alex says
These were awesome, and fast! I bought a pack of hot dogs and forgot the buns but I put these together in time for lunch with minimal effort. I used 1 cup whole wheat flour to 5 1/2 cups white flour, and I love the texture and taste it added. They’re light and fluffy, but sturdy enough to stand up to lots of toppings. With only two of us, we’ve wound up with a lot more buns than we have hotdogs, but I’m looking forward to using some of the more misshapen ones for subs and freezing others for later. Also, I kneaded all by hand and it wasn’t difficult at all. Didn’t have unsalted butter so I used salted and then added 1/2 tbsp kosher salt to the dough and they were seasoned perfectly.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Alex! I’m so glad they turned out well!
Sherry Watson says
Oh my gosh!! The only things I’ve ever baked in my life were from a cake or brownie BOX MIX. These were easy, thanks to your very detailed instructions, and they came out awesome!!! My husband can’t believe a baked bread! Mercy, I am beyond ecstatic!! Thank you so so much for sharing!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Sherry! I’m thrilled to hear that!
Sherry Watson says
Can you put this in a loaf pan and make bread, or is that a whole other recipe?
Ashley Fehr says
That is another recipe. You can roll them into rounds for buns though.
Cindy says
I tried this and these were phenomenal! I’ll never buy store bought again. I shaped these into both hamburger and hot dog buns. Only thing I did differently was I rolled the dough out onto a lightly greased surface instead of a floured surface. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Cindy! I’m glad you liked them!
Patricia Kalinowski says
Can you make the dough in a bread machine?
Ashley Fehr says
You probably could, but I haven’t used a bread machine in years so I’m not much help
Stacey says
I put all the ingredients in my bread machine and they worked out perfect. Nice and soft!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Stacey!
Ella says
Recipe halves well and was so easy! Would do again for sure.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Ella!
Nykki says
I halved this recipe for 10 buns….came out great! I have a family of three and really didnt want all the leftovers. They were a huge hit, and way better than store bought! Thanks for the recipe. The few I have left are for subs tomorrow.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Nykki! I’m so glad they turned out well!
Stephen Spencer says
Hello, i am a 68 year old man who has never baked anything, your recipe has taken the fear of baking out of me. I will attempt your bun recipe as soon as i gathwr all the ingredients up, hopefully mine will be close to yours!! They loik so good!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Stephen! I’d love to hear how it turns out
Mike P says
I made a pot of chili (Pioneer Woman’s Chili recipe. It was good too!) and really felt like using the leftovers in a chili cheese dog. However, I forgot to buy buns. Searched and found this recipe. Decided to try it because I had all the ingredients. I make bread frequently and used a Kitchenaid mixer. I made the full recipe but substituted two cups of whole wheat flour that I’m trying to use up. Whole wheat usually makes the dough dry and tough but the final dough was still very soft. I made 12 hot dog rolls and 6 hamburger rolls. I had Ballpark bun length hot dogs and they fit perfectly. Today, I had a Costco sirloin burger on a hamburger roll that was stored on the counter, in a ziplock sandwich bag, for two days. It was still soft and delicious. Thank you Ashley!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Mike! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for your review!
Michele says
Hi I’m new to bread making. I see the recipe calls for 1 tbsp of instant yeast. How many packets is that?
Ashley Fehr says
One packet is 2 1/4 teaspoons, so one tablespoon is about 1 and a quarter or 1 and a third packages.
Angela says
I halved the recipe, and it came out very well.
I shaped four hot dog buns and six hamburger buns… I got the best of both worlds.
They are delicious. I’ll definitely be making these again. Thank you for your easy recipe and very clear instructions.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Angela! I’m so happy to hear that!
Linda says
Could you somehow make into hamburger buns!
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, definitely! Just form into rounds and press down lightly.
Venice says
Hi we are only a family of four, do you have a recipe that calls for a lesser serving? Thanks
Ashley Fehr says
Unfortunately I don’t, but they freeze great 🙂
Kathy says
My son and I made these buns yesterday. They were so good! What a difference from what you get at the market! These were the best and very easy to make. We will be making them again for sure.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Kathy! I’m glad to hear that!
Beth Pierce says
What a great idea! I will definitely be using this for the summertime and parties. Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Beth!
Emily says
These were amazing, so much more flavor than store bought buns!
Ashley Fehr says
I totally agree! Thanks Emily!
Krissy Allori says
I have never even thought to make my own hot dog buns. What a great idea. Thanks for all the effort to find out which one works the best. I’m saving this for BBQ season.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Krissy! We’ll be making lots of them too!