These sourdough hot dog buns are light, fluffy, and packed full of flavor. They are super easy to make and will take your next family barbecue up a notch. 

hot dog with ketchup and mustard in a homemade sourdough hot dog bun on a wire rack. More hot dog buns in the background

Summer has arrived in Missouri. Weโ€™ve had multiple very hot days already, but thankfully, it feels like the typical Missouri June weather is coming back. 

These types of days call for a hot dog roast over a fire or BBQ. Since this is the first summer ever with a back porch, fire pit, and grill, we are totally living it up. Weโ€™ve had so much fun building family memories out there already.

How do you elevate regular olโ€™ hot dogs? Make some sourdough hot dog buns to serve them in! Delicious, tangy, and healthier than the store-bought bun, they are also pretty darn easy. 

I understand that hot dogs are not necessarily a โ€œhealth foodโ€, but people arenโ€™t usually choosing hot dogs to eat healthier.

They can, however, make a fun and delicious meal on occasion. We love choosing grass-fed hot dogs for a healthier option.

Most of the steps for the sourdough hot dog rolls are done the night before, so the day of, you just roll the dough, allow to rise one more time, and bake. 

For a long time, when a long-fermented recipe called for eggs, I would wait until after the bulk fermentation to add the eggs, which can be tricky.

More recently, Iโ€™ve just been adding the egg when Iโ€™m mixing the dough, and it has been totally fine. But this will totally depend on your comfort zone. Iโ€™ve done this ten times now, and weโ€™ve been fine.

6 sourdough hot dog buns on a wire rack with one sliced open

Tips For Making Sourdough Hot Dog Buns

  • This recipe can be fermented overnight for the most health benefits, or can be made into a quicker version for when you don’t have as much time.
  • Make sure your sourdough starter is nice and bubbly. A active starter is what is going to give this bread its rise.
  • If you buns are not rising the dough could be over-proofed, under proofed, or the temperature was too cold during rising. Also, if your starter is not super active it can take longer for the dough to rise.
  • If you are new to sourdough, make sure to see how to make your own sourdough starter and how to care for it.

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What is the best bread for hot dogs?

Sourdough bread is, in my opinion, the best bread for hot dogs. This is because it adds so much flavor and is fermented, making the bread more nutritious. 

six sourdough hot dog buns with a gorgeous golden brown crust on parchment paper
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Ingredients

  • Sourdough starter โ€“ active and bubbly
  • Warm water
  • Unbleached all-purpose flour 
  • Coconut oil or butter โ€“ or any neutral tasting oil
  • Honey 
  • Salt 
  • Eggs
side view of six sourdough hot dot buns on parchment paper

Tools

Stand mixer

Grain mill to grind fresh grain (optional)

Measuring cups

Berkey water filter

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

How To Make Sourdough Hotdog Buns

hands holding a hot dog with ketchup and mustard drizzled on top in a sourdough hot dog bun.

The Day Before

Feed sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting the dough. You want the starter to be really active and bubbly before it starts to come down.

In a stand mixer, add warm water, unbleached all-purpose flour, melted butter or another neutral tasting oil, sourdough starter, honey, salt and egg. 

Knead with a dough hook for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap for 8-10 hours.

Optional: For a longer fermentation, transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill overnight, covered.

The Next Day

eight balls of dough on a white quartz countertop next to a bench scraper

Divide the dough into ten equal pieces. I like to use a bench scraper.

sourdough dough balls being rolled out into small rectangles

Shape the hotdog buns by rolling the dough out with a rolling pin to form a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle and then roll them up.

sourdough hot dot buns shaped and placed on parchment lined baking sheets

Cover the buns with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise until doubled.

sourdough hot dog bun dough shaped onto parchment paper, allowed to rise a final time, and an egg wash brushed over

Create an egg wash by beating an egg yolk with water, then brush the tops of the buns with the mixture.

close up picture of golden brown sourdough hot dog buns

Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.

close up of a sourdough hot dog bun cut down the side with a hot dog with ketchup and mustard nestled inside

For A “Quicker” Version

  1. In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add sourdough starter, warm water, all purpose flour, melted butter or coconut oil, honey, egg, and salt. Knead for 5-10 minutes.
  2. Shape buns and let rise until doubled, approximately 1-2 hours.
  3. Create egg wash and brush on top of the shaped buns.
  4. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven until lightly browned on top, approximately 25-30 minutes.
  5. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Find More Sourdough Recipes:

Sourdough Hot Dog Buns

4.43 from 84 votes
Light, fluffy, and full of that lovely sourdough tang, these sourdough hot dog buns are an excellent way to amp up your next BBQ.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Additional Time: 10 hours
Total: 10 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 10
hot dog with ketchup and mustard in a homemade sourdough hot dog bun on a wire rack. More hot dog buns in the background
Save this recipe!
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!
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Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly (113g)
  • 3/4 cup warm water, 177g
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, 420g
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter, 60g
  • 3 tablespoons honey, 63g
  • 1 teaspoon salt, 6g
  • 1 large egg

Egg wash (optional)

  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions 

  • Feed sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting the dough so it is nice and bubbly for baking.
  • In a stand mixer, add warm water, unbleached all-purpose flour, melted butter or another neutral tasting oil, sourdough starter, honey, salt and egg.
  • Knead with a dough hook for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
  • Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap for 8-10 hours.
  • Divide the dough into ten equal pieces.
  • Shape the hotdog buns by rolling the dough out with a rolling pin to form a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle and then roll them up.
  • Cover the buns with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise until doubled.
  • Create an egg wash by beating an egg yolk with water, then brush the tops of the buns with the mixture.
  • Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.

Notes

  • Optional: For a longer fermentation, transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill overnight, covered after the first bulk fermentation.

Nutrition

Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 52IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.43 from 84 votes (68 ratings without comment)

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116 Comments

  1. Amanda says:

    Can I make these with an egg replacer ?

  2. Sam Miller says:

    4 stars
    Thanks for sharing, curious as to what size hotdog/sausage the bun will handle? At 890g total recipe weight, at 10 rolls, that’s 89g per roll of dough. It’s seems small compared to a similar recipe for SourDough Soft Pretzels. So, I’ll experiment with dough weight of 125g/roll to see. Report back with photos. Thanks,
    Sam

  3. Heather says:

    5 stars
    These taste fantastic and the texture is soooo good! The dough mildy difficult to work with, but I just ran my hands under water and that helped but not has well as oiling the surface as well as my hands. After that, east peasy! I doubled it the first time and I am glad I did! So good and will be making again!

  4. Kelly Ann Roberts says:

    I just added a small dusting of flour while these kneaded for 5 to 10 min. Everything turned out perfectly. I just need to roll them in a longer shape. They turned out like rolls. I will work on this part, for my next bake. I love following all your videos. Thank you for sharing with us.

  5. Kate says:

    1 star
    Like another comment here, I also found the dough hard to work with. The end result was more of a breadstick than a typical hot dog bun. Sadly, I will be looking for another recipe to follow next time

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      I’m sorry you did not like this recipe!

  6. Jennifer says:

    Can I substitute this with fresh hard white wheat ?

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      Yes, but the ratios may need adjusted a little to allow for the freshly milled flour to soak up enough water.

  7. Brittany says:

    I used my bread machine to make the dough. Then I divided it into buns, let them rise, and baked them. Perfect! I like recipes that I can amend for the bread machine.

  8. Karen Erikson Weaver says:

    4 stars
    I have no idea if I did something wrong…but the dough was very liquidy and hard to manage. It came together and baked beautifully, but it was like trying to shape slime. Will try again.

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      That’s interesting! Sounds like something definitely went wry in the beginning. I am glad that they baked beautifully.

  9. Kelsey Hartley says:

    5 stars
    These turned out so delicious! I honestly didnโ€™t make these the โ€œrightโ€ way haha. I used barely active starter, because I didnโ€™t have time to wait for it to feed. I refrigerated the dough overnight before diving and shaping. BUT they still turned out great! I need to work on shaping, and make them shorter so they have more โ€œoomfโ€ to them, but I will definitely be making them again. I am having such a hard time buying store bought bread after discovering your blog, Lisa!!

  10. Sarah says:

    2 stars
    I just tried the quick method and divided it into 10 I didnโ€™t see I could do 8-10. I weighed them to make sure it was even. I let them rise for 3-4 hours but they didnโ€™t rise much. My sourdough was active and bubbly and floated in the water. Maybe it doesnโ€™t work as well doing the quick method?
    They are tiny, Iโ€™m not sure if Iโ€™ll be able to fit hot dogs in them, haha but Iโ€™m waiting for them to cool to taste.

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      It could be due to the quick version. It’s hard to tell without knowing all of the aspects of the baking process.