Best Brioche Hot Dog Buns

I love summer, and I love eating outside, and I love hot dogs! And with a great recipe for brioche hot dog buns, I feel like I’m ready to embrace cook outs that last long after bedtime.

Summer seemed to take a long time to get here this year. We’d have a few days of playing outside and then the cold rain would return, and we’d be stuck inside trying to remember what we did with ourselves all winter. But then, all the sudden, the seasons changed, and we embraced summer living like it’d never left.

And each day I wake up with the goal of keeping the oven off, and all food outside. Hot dogs served on glorious, brioche hot dog buns fit seamlessly into the rotation. Best of all, everyone is happy! These brioche hot dog buns make a plain hot dog decadent, and hold up to all the toppings you can throw at them. Try them this week, and you’ll be making them all summer!

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What is Brioche? And Why Brioche Hot Dog Buns?

If you’re new to brioche, welcome to the best corner of the bread world. Brioche is a rich, buttery dough with origins in France, made with whole milk, butter, and eggs. It’s technically an enriched dough, meaning it includes fats and sugar, resulting in a soft, golden crumb and slightly sweet flavor.

While some brioche recipes can be a little finicky, this recipes comes together so simply. It’s a great recipe that, once you get in the habit of making, has endless applications. When baked to a golden brown, brioche has the perfect balance of tender interior and light crust. That’s why it makes such an excellent base for everything from hamburger buns to cinnamon rolls.

I’m all about finding a good recipe and making it over and over again until it becomes second nature. Master brioche hot dog buns, and you’ll have mastered soft and flavorful sandwich bread, sweet buns, dinner rolls, and so much more!

• 👉 Try our ultra-soft sourdough brioche
• 👉 Make cinnamon rolls that stay pillowy for days

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Ingredients You Can Feel Good About

A glance at store-bought hot dog rolls often reveals a laundry list of preservatives like calcium propionate, high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, and even beta-carotene color to make them look more appealing. We skip all that.

Instead, we use:

• Unbleached wheat flour, preferably bread flour for strength
• Room temperature whole milk or warm milk to help the yeast along
• Butter for fat
• Eggs for richness
• A bit of sugar to deepen flavor
• No natural flavor or artificial flavors—just the good stuff

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Step-by-Step: Making Brioche Hot Dog Buns

If this is your first time working with brioche dough, don’t worry. The process is straightforward, especially with a stand mixer and a trusty dough hook.

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients for Brioche Hot Dog Buns

Throw your flour, yeast, salt and sugar into the mixing bowl and give them a quick mix with your dough hook. A note about flour: typically brioche is made with all white bread flour, however I encourage you to use what you have! All-purpose flour may result in less structure and rise but will still give you great bread!

I love to add some whole wheat flour to my brioche hot dog buns. It’s an easy way to add some protein and fiber to the meal and feel great about bbq nights. But more than that, we really like the added flavor. If you use a grain mill in your home, you can definitely replace some of the flour with freshly milled wheat flour. Half and half is a great landing place!

If you’re interested in learning more about baking with freshly milled flour, check out THIS post!

2. Add the Wet Ingredients

Next, add in your eggs, milk and room temperature butter.

Mix with the dough hook on low until a shaggy dough forms. Increase speed to medium and knead for 12-15 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and will pull away from the sides of the bowl to form a ball.

When you first start mixing, the dough may seem wet and you may be tempted to add a little flour. DON’T. Be patient, and you’ll find that after about 12 minutes, the dough will come together nicely.

3. First Rise

Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise until doubled—usually 1hour at room temperature. Y

4. Shape the Buns

Prepare your hot dog mold by brushing it lightly with oil or melted butter. Alternately, you can bake your hotdog buns in a 9×13 baking dish that’s been greased.

(THESE hot dog bun molds made this SO easy! and I loved how they looked:)

Divide dough into 8 equal portions (use a kitchen scale for accuracy). To shape my hot dog buns, I started by pressing each piece of dough into a rough rectangle with my fingertips. The rectangles were each about 2 inches tall by 4-5 inches long. I then took the bottom two corners of the long side and folded them up about 2/3rds of the way.

Taking the top two corners in your fingers, fold the top side down about 2/3rds of the way to form an envelope fold. next, Fold the right and left sides in slightly, maybe half an inch, just to square your rectangle up a bit. Then fold the long sides together and pinch to seal.

Flip each bun into the prepared mold, or line them up, side by side in your baking dish. If using a baking dish, leave about 1/4 of an inch between each bun.

5. Final Rise

Cover lightly and let rise again until puffy—about 45 minutes.

6. Bake to Golden Brown

Brush with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with a splash of water). Add sesame seeds or poppy seeds if you like.

Bake at 350°F until internal temperature hits 180°F and tops are beautifully golden brown—about 15–18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

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Serving & Storing

Let buns cool completely before slicing. The crumb inside will be delicate and buttery. These are fantastic with brats, shrimp rolls, grilled favorite hot dogs, or even veggie dogs topped with your favorite toppings.

To store your brioche hot dog buns, keep in an airtight bag at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

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Inspired to Bake?

We’d love to see what you come up with! Share your glamped up barbeques with us on Facebook or Instagram!

Wre brioche fun?

• 👉 Our sourdough brioche is perfect for French toast and dinner rolls
• 👉 Learn to make dreamy cinnamon rolls that stay soft for days
• 👉 Try our brioche hamburger buns—just as soft and flavorful

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Final Thoughts

Brioche hot dog buns may sound fancy, but they’re surprisingly simple to make and will turn your summer meals into something extraordinary. Whether you’re hosting a backyard barbecue or just indulging in a gourmet hot dog base, these buns are the perfect way to bring a little French magic to your homestead kitchen.

Bake them once and you’ll never look back—because the best buns are the ones you make yourself.