Sausage (Hotdog) Buns

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all mothers out there! ^_^

Being raised in a traditional Asian Chinese family, (my siblings and) I were never used to saying "I love you" to our parents or heartfelt words of gratification to them for their selfless love and care that they have showered upon us. Until I was older, I came to realise that certain things just have to be said out loud although deep down in our hearts, we are truly appreciative of what they have done for us over the years. As a little warm-up exercise, those heartfelt words made their way through text messages on such special occasions. While we ought to show our gratifications everyday and not just on this day, I see it as a day for a grand sum-up of everything a mother has done over the past year since everyone across the globe celebrates the wonder of all mothers on this very day together.

This is the second year I am missing out on mother's day celebration for being away from home. Although it may seem like every other day, the mark of Mother's Day somehow just makes me think of my mother more than any other day. Perhaps this is its significance. And I suppose this is how I decided to share this recipe.

Back in the past when I was still living with my parents, my siblings and I used to have different variety of buns and bread for breakfast before school, and even later when we started working. My mother would make a trip to the nearby bakery to pick up the buns for each of us, and she makes an effort to pick up different flavours and variety on different days. Having said that, sausage bun, or otherwise called hotdog bun is the most common one that she would pick up since there aren't much selections to our liking. This naturally became a staple and I have no problem eating the same up to 4 times a week.

So when my bread-making turned out to be a success, sausage buns or hotdog buns naturally came up to my mind. And for a twist, I am using Chipotle hotdogs instead of the usual hotdogs. Is this one of your favourite buns too?

Sausage (Hotdog) Buns

I am sharing these Sausage (Hotdog) Buns with Tea Time Treats (May 2015: Sandwiches, Wraps & Rolls!) hosted by Janie of The Hedgecombers and Karen of Lavender and Lovage. Buns or rolls, they all belong to the bread family, right? 

I am also sharing this recipe with Bake of the Week organised by Helen & gang of Casa Costello; CookBlogShare hosted by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes; and Family Bakes hosted by Jenny of Modern Family Baking.

          

Sausage (Hotdog) Buns
Bread dough recipe referenced from: The Dream Baker's Chicken Curry Buns
Makes 12

Ingredients Required

Bread Dough - Overnight Sponge Dough
215 grams bread flour
125 grams full cream milk (cold)
2 grams instant dry yeast

Bread Dough - Basic Dough
1 overnight sponge dough (as above)
90 grams bread flour, more for dusting
30 grams egg (about 1/2 of an extra large egg)
4 grams instant yeast
3 grams fine salt
60 grams fine sugar
45 grams unsalted butter / margarine, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk (cold)

12 hotdogs
Egg wash: Balance of 1/2 egg from Basic Dough + 1 tablespoon milk, mix well.
Sugar syrup: 1 teaspoon white sugar + 1 tablespoon hot water, mix till sugar dissolves.

Bakeware Required

Two large baking sheets

Preparation Steps

Overnight Sponge Dough

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients to form a rough dough.
2. Cover dough with cling wrap and store overnight in the fridge (non-freezer compartment).

Basic Dough

1. Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except overnight sponge dough and butter or margarine. 
2. Beat the ingredients with an electric mixer, and tear the overnight sponge dough into pieces and throw into the mixing bowl piece by piece while beating. 
3. Turn the dough onto a clean table top sprinkled with bread flour (to prevent sticking) and knead the butter into the dough by hand to form a smooth, shinning and elastic dough. Knead for approximately 10 minutes. 
4. Put dough into a large mixing bowl covered with cling film or a piece of damp cloth. Leave aside to proof till double in size.
5. Punch down the dough to expel the air, divide into equal weight portions and mould into round balls. Cover and let dough rest for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Assembling and Baking the buns

1. Using your hands, roll and stretch a piece of dough into a long rope, about twice the length of the hotdog. 
2. Wrap the dough around each hot dog in a spiral fashion, leaving about one-inch of hotdog peeking out at each end. 
3. Tuck the ends of the dough and slightly pressing the dough together to hold in place.
4. Place the buns apart on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let proof for another 45 to 60 minutes.
5. Gently brush the surface with egg wash and bake in the preheated oven at 355 degrees F (or 180 degrees C) for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until surface turns brown.
6. Once baked, remove from oven and gently brush the surface of the buns with sugar syrup while hot. Transfer buns to wire rack to let cool slightly before serving.

Note: This video here (from the 4th minute) has a pretty good demonstration on how to wrap dough around the hotdog and tuck the ends of the dough. Unfortunately I have not tried the recipe in this video as it requires the dough to be proof for 24 - 60 hours. @_@ Perhaps I will try it someday and share the results. :)

The Dream Baker's Experiment

1. Just like my Chicken Curry Buns, I used 2% reduced fat milk and margarine (with 80% fat) for the dough recipe.
2. I left the dough to proof by placing it (in a bowl covered with cling wrap) in a switch-off oven for about 2 hours.
3. This time, the weigh of the dough came to about 660 grams and I divided the dough into 12 equal pieces, weighing approximately 50 grams each. I only used half the portion of dough to make 6 of these Sausage Buns, and I used the remaining half portion of dough for another bun recipe. ^_^
4. I baked the buns in the middle rack of the oven and baked them for 13 minutes (baking time varies across different ovens). I would say 12 minutes would be sufficient. As you can see from the colours of my buns, they are a little browner. I might have over-baked them slightly (but not burnt!) as I was busy washing up the dishes. @_@ Still tasty anyway!

Look how much the dough has risen after letting it proof for another hour before baking. As you can  see from the first bun, I didn't tuck the dough well. It kind of "burst" when left to proof for the second time.

Before (left photo) and after (right photo) brushing the sugar syrup on the surface of the bread.

It adds a glossy finish and an additional sweetness to every bite.

Let the buns cool slightly over a wire rack. This allows the surface of the buns to set and dry too.

Homemade buns for breakfast, anyone? ^_^

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Dare to dream.

The Dream Baker