Chinese Hot Dog Rolls

Who doesn't love a hot dog? I don't think you need to wait for 4th of July to indulge in one. Put aside all those thoughts about what's in them and treat yourself with one of these!

I first had one of these hot dog rolls in Japan and immediately fell in love. I had one every day while I was there. The bread is light and so easy to eat. They are generally made with sausages and eaten for breakfast.

You can roll out your dough in a long rope and wrap it around the hot dog or you can make this fun design. In the end it will be bread wrapped around a hot dog and that's good enough for me. The best thing about this recipe is that the "tangzhong" you add keeps this dough soft for a couple of days. All you have to do is pull it out of the fridge and reheat in the microwave and it will taste like you just pulled it out of the oven. 

INGREDIENTS

TANGZHONG

• 1/3 cup bread flour

• 1 cup water

DOUGH

• 350 grams bread flour

• 50 grams sugar

• 5 grams salt

• 1 packet active dry yeast

• 120 ml warm milk

• 1 egg

• 120 grams tangzhong

• 3 tbsp room temperature butter

• 8 hot dogs

• Sesame Seeds

• Egg wash to brush on buns

DIRECTIONS

1. Create tangzhong by mixing flour and water in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until thickens. Mixture should get thick enough to form indentations when moving it around with your spoon. Put this aside until you need to add it into your dough.
2. In your stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
3. Pour in the warm milk, egg, and tangzhong
4. Mix with your hook attachment for 2 minutes
5. Cut the butter in small pieces and add it to the dough
6. Continue mixing for another 8-10 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough comes together. 
7. You will be able to tell the dough is done by stretching it and seeing it it forms a thin "membrane" 
8. cover the dough with a plastic wrap and put it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size
9. Punch the dough down and cut into 8 equal pieces
10. pat the dough into an oval making sure each piece is big enough to put the hot dog in the center with both ends of the hot dogs sticking out
11. Cut equal number of slits on both sides of the oval, making sure the center is still in tact
12. lay the hot dog in the center of the oval and fold each slit over the hot dog, creating a criss cross. Continue doing this on all 8 hot dogs and place on a greased baking sheet.
13. Cover hot dogs with a plastic wrap and let rise for another 30-40 minutes
14. Gently brush each hot dog with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds 
15. Place hot dogs in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes