Good Intentions

Many months ago, when Eric and I were getting ready to move, I had all sorts of grand plans for all the stuff I was going to get accomplished while I was off work and job hunting in our new location. House projects, kitchen projects, and craft projects. Oh, I was so looking forward to all that stuff.

Among things like the cool, crafty DIY wall art I’m still brainstorming to this day and the hot, healthy meals ready and on the table when Eric walked in the door, I thought I was going to bake bread. Tons of bread! There was going to be a fresh, beautiful, hand-formed, yeasted homemade bread in my kitchen at all times.

Um. Yeah. About that. I’m not really sure what happened but I guess there was this marathon of Dance Moms on TV and I sat down for a second and the next thing I knew SIX HOURS had gone by and well…. I’m pretty sure things like that didn’t happen everyday but…where in the world did those all those hours go?

I was off work for seven months. I made bread once. In the form of these hot dogs buns.

Housewife fail.

And now I’m back to work and working harder and longer hours than I’ve worked before in my life. We just ate the last of these buns from the freezer last week after I came home after a 12 hour day and didn’t feel like cooking.

Dang, I’m gonna miss these.

I mad at myself for not spending more time making things like these soft, delightful hot dog buns while I had the time. Ah, hindsight…all 20/20 and all. Now the challenge comes in having enough hours to string together to go from mixing to rising to baking to cooling before storing. I’m going to have to carve out a chunk of time here soon, because I’m pretty sure after eating our humble, little hot dogs inside one of these, I’m afraid we’ll never be able to go back to store bought. These were so wonderful paired with the cider-braised leek and apple dogs I made.

Annnnnnd. I’ve officially spoiled us. 😉

HOMEMADE HOT DOG BUNS (Recipe Source: As seen at Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally adapted from King Arthur Flour)

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
3 to 4 cups flour
1 egg
sesame seeds or poppy seeds, for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and let sit for 10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
Add the milk, oil, salt and 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Beat with the dough hook until combined. Add flour, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 5-7 minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth.
Put the dough into an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about one hour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces (a kitchen scale is helpful if you have one!) Shape each piece into a ball. Roll the balls into ropes about 4 1/2-inches in length and flatten slightly. Place each bun on a lined baking sheet with the sides just barely touching.
Cover with a light towel and let rise a second time until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400.
Just before baking, lightly brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water) and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds (if using). Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the buns from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 9 buns.

ENJOY! 🙂