New England style buns without a specialty pan

New England style hot dog or lobster rolls made without a specialty hot dog bun pan: a little bit classic buttery top loading New England style bun, a little bit deliciously soft yet structured Japanese milk bread. Stuff it with lobster, shrimp salad, or a dog.

want something equally soft and squishy but a little larger (and vegan!) try my aquafaba pretzel rolls or stuff that sucker with some no recipe egg salad

update: I made a prettier version (without the beer but with the tangzhong) 

A few years back I stuffed a cooler with fresh cooked lobster meat and carted it from Portland East to Portland West to make lobster rolls for a rehearsal dinner. After going through that much effort for a sandwich I was dismayed to realize that Portland West does not sell the buns I wanted and I was forced to buy rolls of the regular variety and cut them down to size. Because the bun must not overwhelm the filling, and a bun with a flat bottom cut for top loading holds the filling in place rather than letting it slop or roll. Slather the sides with butter and griddle til golden brown and it doesn’t matter the time of year or the weather outside I’m transported to a picnic table near the waters’ edge, smell of salt in the air, sun on my back, lunch in my hand.

there is a pan you can buy if you want these the same every time. just change the name to “with a specialty pan”

 this is a great article extolling the virtues of the new england style buttered bun.

this one talks about internal temperatures for various breads

New England style buns without a specialty pan

ingredients

• 8 ounces of beer -a light lager or wheat beer works best. I used Hamms.
• 2 tsps active dry yeast
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 8 ounces of milk- warmed
• 4 Tbsp butter- salted or unsalted
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp diamond kosher salt unless using unsalted butter then increase to 2 tsps
• 5 cups of all purpose flour

instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are going to knead by hand) combine beer, yeast, and whole wheat pastry flour. give a quick stir and allow to proof for 10-20 minutes

while that is proofing heat up the milk to hot and add the butter. by the time the other is proofed the butter should be melted and the milk milk should be cool enough to add to the yeast.

add the egg and sugar to the milk mixture and whisk to break up the egg

add one cup of the all purpose flour to the beer mixture and the salt, stir to roughly combine then add the milk mixture and the remaining all purpose flour, stir to combine and then knead until smooth and no longer sticky. form the dough into a ball put back in the bowl  cover with a wet towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled- about an hour

butter a 12×14 roasting or lasagne pan

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, flatten or roll out dough to a length of about 10-inches and 5-inches wide. Fold in half and then roll into a 6×6 square. Starting from the end closest to you, roll the dough into a log, sealing the seam on the bottom of the roll.Place log seam-side down in prepared loaf pan about 1/2” to 3/4” inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap and let sit for 30-45 minutes until dough has doubled in volume.

Lightly brush the top of the dough with melted butter. Bake at 375F for 18-22 minutes until the top of the rolls are golden brown and internal temperature of bread is at least 190F.

Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Release rolls from loaf pan and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Once cool, slice rolls accordingly.

I know, I know, the rolls not buttered

New England style hot dog/lobster rolls without a specialty hot dog bun pan

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 12 buns

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 ounces of beer -a light lager or wheat beer works best. I used Hamms.
• 2 tsps active dry yeast
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 8 ounces of milk- warmed
• 4 Tbsp butter- salted or unsalted
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp diamond kosher salt unless using unsalted butter then increase to 2 tsps
• 5 cups of all purpose flour

Instructions

 

• n the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are going to knead by hand) combine beer, yeast, and whole wheat pastry flour. give a quick stir and allow to proof for 10-20 minutes
• while that is proofing heat up the milk to hot and add the butter. by the time the other is proofed the butter should be melted and the milk milk should be cool enough to add to the yeast.
• add the egg and sugar to the milk mixture and whisk to break up the egg
• add one cup of the all purpose flour to the beer mixture and the salt, stir to roughly combine then add the milk mixture and the remaining all purpose flour, stir to combine and then knead until smooth and no longer sticky. form the dough into a ball put back in the bowl cover with a wet towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled- about an hour
• butter a 12x14 roasting or lasagne pan
• Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, flatten or roll out dough to a length of about 10-inches and 5-inches wide. Fold in half and then roll into a 6x6 square. Starting from the end closest to you, roll the dough into a log, sealing the seam on the bottom of the roll.Place log seam-side down in prepared loaf pan about 1/2” to 3/4” inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap and let sit for 30-45 minutes until dough has doubled in volume.
• Lightly brush the top of the dough with melted butter. Bake at 375F for 18-22 minutes until the top of the rolls are golden brown and internal temperature of bread is at least 190F.
• Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Release rolls from loaf pan and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Once cool, slice rolls accordingly.

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