First off, what's a "New England style" bun anyway? It's a top load/slit top bun that opens to hold its contents, usually a hot dog with toppings. They can be toasted or grilled along the sides too (prior to loading) ! Now that Fall's here, why not make some Trim Healthy Mama Sprouted Wheat "New England style" Hot Dog Buns so you can join in on all the fun at tail gate parties, barbecues, etc?
This recipes makes 16 mini New England style buns...just the size to hold a standard length (low fat, supremely healthy!) hot dog or you can certainly fill it with some other healthy substance (tuna?)! And since 1/16 of the total recipe works as an S Helper, having one of these buns with an S meal works on plan! Or, depending what you put IN the bun, you could have 2 buns with an E meal!
Start with my Sprouted Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipe dough. While the dough is rising for the first time, prepare your pan, a 13" X 9" baking casserole or cake baking pan.
For my pan, I cut a piece of aluminum foil that was twice the length of the pan (26") then folded it to be double thickness. I folded it in half width-wise and this fold point served as the center of a divider running down the middle so I could have two neatly divided rows of 8 buns per row. (There was extra foil on the sides beyond the 9" width that I folded under.) If you don't have foil or don't want to mess with it, it probably will work out ok - the buns might just rise in a less uniform manner without the divider. I sprayed the entire inside with coconut oil spray.
Once the dough completes its first rise, use floured hands to punch down and knead the dough as before and work a couple extra tablespoons of sprouted flour into the dough to remove any stickiness. Shape the dough ball into a flat round shape....cut into fourths....and cut each fourth into four pieces. Presto! 16 little pieces of dough!
Cut dough into 16 pieces......roll into rope shapes.....brush on egg white and poppy seeds after final rising!
Roll each dough piece with floured hands to create a rope shape..just like you did with Playdoh in preschool! Place the ropes in the pan slightly spaced as shown (2 rows of 8 buns per row).
Cover the pan with a piece of plastic and allow to rise until doubled. I allowed mine to rise 60 minutes before baking - longer than usual for my sprouted wheat breads, but probably necessary due to the extra compression of the dough while making the rope shapes.
Once the dough ropes have risen, brush them with a couple tablespoons of liquid egg whites and sprinkle on some poppy seeds, if desired.
Bake in a 350 degree over for about 22-25 minutes. Remove from the pan as soon as it's safe to handle the pan - cool on a wire rack. To store, wrap your buns in paper towel to absorb any excess moisture and store in the refrigerator in a sealed container or storage bag.
To serve, use a bread knife to cut a slice about 3/4 way through the top of the roll. Spread, load, and enjoy!
Are you a knitter? If you like the placemat shown above and would like more information about how to knit one, you can click here to visit the placemat's design page on Ravelry. The project is designed to be worked using Knit Picks Dishie yarn, a wonderful 100% cotton yarn.