Chinese Bakery Hot Dog Milk Bread

Soft and fluffy, these Chinese bakery hot dog milk bread buns are my kids’ favorite snack.

Each hot dog is wrapped around an Asian style milk bread and baked to a golden finish.

The combination of pillowy milk bread and savory hot dog makes for an easy meal on the go or a great addition to school lunch boxes.

You can find these milk bun hot dogs in Asian bakeries, especially those specializing in Hong Kong-style baked goods.

They’re typically lined up in glass cases. Grab them with tongs and place them on a parchment-paper-lined tray.

My kids, now big kids, can’t have just one. So I typically pay a fortune at the bakeries. Now I can make them at home and in big batches.

After testing this recipe multiple times with consistent results (and full approval from my kids), I’m excited to finally share the recipe.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• No Tangzhong – This recipe skips the traditional Asian technique of cooking a small amount of flour with liquid into a paste before mixing it into the dough. And it still produces fluffy, buttery, and soft milk bread.
• No Stand Mixer – Kneading by hand is easy and even fun, like playing with playdoh. I made this recipe with a stand mixer before. The soft dough always gets stuck to the bottom of the mixer bowl, requiring hand intervention anyway. For that reason, I prefer kneading by hand.
• Instant Dry Yeast – Speeds up prep time and works perfectly, despite my past trust issues with it in bánh mì.
• No Waiting for Room Temperature Eggs – I use eggs straight from the fridge. By the time I’m done mixing, they’re room temperature anyway.
• No Long List of Specific Steps – No complicated timing or tedious instructions like other recipes. Just mix everything in a bowl, knead, proof, assemble, and bake. Simple!

What You Will Need

To make this Asian-style bakery hot dog milk bread buns, gather the following ingredients and equipment:

Ingredients

• Hot dogs – I’m using a full pack of 12-count hot dogs from Costco. I’ve tried using cooked hot dogs, thinking grilling or pan-frying would add more flavor, but simplicity is key. Just use the hot dogs straight from the package, and they’ll bake perfectly in the oven with the milk buns.
• Milk bun dough – A combination of egg, sugar, whole milk, instant yeast, sweetened condensed milk, all-purpose flour, and salted butter.
• Neutral oil – I’m using vegetable oil. Only a tiny bit to grease the bowl and to prevent sticking during proofing.
• Egg wash (egg + milk) – Gives the buns a golden crust during baking.
• Melted butter – Brush on the finished buns for a beautiful bakery-style glossy finish.
• Roasted white sesame seeds – Provide an optional finishing touch.

Equipment

• Half sheet for baking – All 12 wrapped hot dogs bun fit nicely on a half sheet, which measures about 18 x 13 inches.
• Parchment paper – Helps with easy cleanup and prevents the buns from sticking to the pan when baking. I didn’t use it and simply use a spatula to lift the buns off the baking sheet but it probably could have been much easier with parchment paper.
• Pastry brush – Preferably two. One to brush the egg wash and another to brush on the buttery finish.
• Kitchen scale – Offers precise measurements and allows you to quickly tare and add ingredients by weight directly into a bowl. However, it’s not required, as I also provide volume measurements in the recipe below.

Transfer the dough to a clean surface and knead for about 15 minutes until smooth. The dough should come together without extra flour, but if it feels too sticky, lightly flour your hands and continue kneading.

Lightly grease a bowl with neutral oil, place the dough inside, and cover. Let it rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Proofing time may vary. A warm spot, like under a light or in a proofing oven, will speed up the process. You can also proof it in the fridge overnight.

Place the dough on a flat surface and position a raw hot dog at the bottom end. Roll the hot dog up, ensuring at least three full loops of dough around the center of the hot dog, with about ½ inch of hot dog exposed at both ends.

Arrange the wrapped hot dogs on a baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between each. Let them rest for 45 minutes for a second proofing.

If you don’t have instant dry yeast, you can use active dry yeast. Just activate it first by mixing it with a bit of the milk and sugar from the recipe. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, or until it becomes foamy, then proceed with the recipe as usual.

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