hot dog buns

as far as i'm concerned, the weekend is for me to try out new bread baking projects (and, ok, maybe sit in the park and drink and play games and go shopping too....). this weekend it was operation:hot dog bun!

and since a hot dog bun on it's own is no fun (well, maybe it is a little fun) i made the cherry sage and the chorizo sausages from vegan brunch and we topped them with carmelized onions, tomatoes and avocado. delicious!

these were really easy to make, just a basic dough that came together quickly and was easy to work with. and no overnight rising so you can start these and enjoy your dogs on the same day! the recipe was in gourmet and i just tweaked it a bit to make it vegan. note that the recipe is for 16 buns so you might want to cut it in half (though they say they can be frozen for a couple of weeks).

hot dog buns

(from gourmet june 2009, makes 16 buns)

ingredients:
2 1/4 cups soy milk, divided
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup warm water (105—115°F)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

mix 1 cup of the soy milk with 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. set aside for a few minutes until it curdles.

bring curdled soy milk and and remaining 1 1/4 cup soy milk to a bare simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. cool mixture to 105 to 115°F.

meanwhile, stir together warm water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (if mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

add warm milk mixture, sugar, flour, and salt to yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until dough forms. turn dough onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating only enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic (about 7 or 8 minutes).

transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat with oil. cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

butter 2 large baking pans (about 9x13). punch down dough, then divide into 16 equal pieces (about 3 oz each). roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch-long log on a lightly floured surface. space 8 logs evenly in each pan so that there are 2 columns of logs that run parallel to long sides of pan.

loosely cover buns with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until buns just start to touch, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

bake buns, switching position of pans halfway through, until tops are golden and undersides are golden-brown and sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. before using buns, pull apart and cut lengthwise down center of each (but not all the way through). load 'em up and enjoy!

we also made cajun oven fries (from vegan with a vengeance) and broccoli (gotta have something green) sprinkled with smoked salt.

-d