New England Hot Dog rolls

Make your own.
Take any regular hot dog rolls and a sharp bread knife


 
Cut the crust off of both sides nice and thin


 
Ready for the griddle

 
Toast them up(with butter if you prefer)

 
Enjoy

 

A for effort.

I'd rather order them from Famous Foods- 4 packs for $18.00/and they freeze really well- living in Big D- these buns are not found in this part of the world- someone from Roadfood hooked me up to Famous Foods a few years ago- they ship on Wednesday and arrive via UPS on Monday.
Here's their website info:www.famousfoods.com

ENJOY!

Michael Hoffman


F for hygiene.

What's the hygiene problem? he's making them for himself.

And it is hot in the summer.

If, while cooking the dogs, you change your mind, can you paste the sides of the bun back on?

   Or is it too late because you have either eaten them, fed them to the birds, mounted them on the wall in frames like antelope heads, or, saved them to make croutons?

   That would be my main concern.  Well, not before world peace. 

   The Bear

that's just wrong.

I don't understand the reason for all the humorous comments. What Bob was doing was documenting how similar side opening and New England-style top opening buns are. The overall flavor of a hot dog or lobster roll can be changed quite a bit when the bun can be buttered and/or toasted.

For starters, most producers who bake both styles of buns use either the same exact batter (typically budget and supermarket brands) or very similar batters (such as Wegman's,  Freihofers, Arnold, and Pepperidge Farm.)

What Bob is doing is akin to scraping off the burnt spot of a piece of toast. True, the appearance of the bun after trimming the baked edges is different. But if the edges are buttered and then grilled or toasted, the effect is much less pronounced.

I note the package of 8 Publix buns still weigh 13 ounces. Most packages around here now only weigh 12 ounces. I laughed myself silly when I saw the Sunbeam buns in the market a few days ago. The package screamed 'new'. The first new thing I saw about it was that the cut the size of the package down to 11 ounces for 8 rolls. The labeled price: $2.89. So, Bob can still trim off part of the roll without making it too small.

True, there are online merchants that will ship New England-style hot dog buns around the country. But what is the cost/benefit ratio?

I think a lot of people who still hanker for New England-style hot dog buns will be grateful for his tutorial. True, talk is cheap, for I can walk to a few markets that sell both types around here.

You forgot the most important picture.

sk bob, bringing high culture to the unwashed masses since 12/29/05

 
 

looks good to me. so simple, yet i never thought of it myself

Wartoad, thanks but what makes you think I'm unwashed?
not a nice thing to say

No no no no.  "TO" the unwashed masses.

I consider you one of the more entertaining posters of this forum.

SK, good idea. Try the Great Value rolls from Wal-Mart. Oh, you need a pinky ring.

bosco lover


looks good to me. so simple, yet i never thought of it myself

I had the same thought myself, especially since the NE bun is virtually non-existent in central FL.

sorry, Wartoad the tan must have fooled you
John, I'll put my diamond on for the next shot.

David_NYC


For starters, most producers who bake both styles of buns use either the same exact batter (typically budget and supermarket brands) or very similar batters (such as Wegman's,  Freihofers, Arnold, and Pepperidge Farm.)

I've had Wegmans New England Style Buns and Pepperidge Farms Top Split buns side to side. They taste nothing alike and their texture is completely different
 
While the batters for a single company's buns may be similar (hot dog, to new england stylre roll, to hamburger, etc) at Wegmans, they're not the exactly same - and the small differnece makes a huge difference after baking. One of the major differences between a regular hot dog bun and a new england style roll is the density. This happens because the yeast content for each is different. There's more yeast in the regular hot dog buns making them rise more and have more air in them. Side by side, if you eat a wegman's hot dog bun and a new england style roll, the new england style roll will appear to be a little chewier and have more bite. The change in yeast content, also affects the flavor. So, merely shaving off the top and bottom of a regular roll will not result in the same bun. 
 
Now, as per Pepperidge Farms, there's no noticable difference in taste and texture between their regular hot dog buns and their split top buns - which is one reason I have pointed out on several occasions that Pepperidge farms doesn't really make New England style rolls. In fact, they don't even refer to New england style on their packaging - they simply call them "top-split" which furthers the idea that they are no different from their side split brothers.
 
When talking about real new england style rolls, let's not confuse them with mere top split buns. There's more to a new england style roll than the ability to butter the sides and grill them.  There is a textural and flavor difference as well.
 
 
 
 

Scoreader, thanks for commenting on that sentence of mine. I was not implying that those four brands of buns (for example, Freihofers and Wegmans) taste alike and their texture is alike. I did look up nuitrition and ingredient information for those four brands to confirm what I remember from having bought them in the last few years, namely that each company had different formulas for the two different styles of rolls they made.

But, you do raise an interesting point: how do people in New England know what bakers are making real New England style rolls, and what bakers are making white bread, hamburger rolls, and all types of hot dog rolls all from the same batter recipe?

Is there any guarantee that the online vendors of New England style rolls are shipping the denser types of rolls you describe?

Finally, if I can't get one of those really dense brands like Country Kitchen, I will settle for Wonder Bread, etc.

I wasn't trying to pick apart your point, only to point out that those subtle difference in a company's batter, can result in a huge difference. I remember as a kid, enjoying Freihofer's New Englad style rolls, but living in DC (and even when I lived in upstate NY) I buy Wegamn's brand.

When I moved to Greensboro, NC, the ONLY bun I found was Pepperidge Farms top split buns sold at Harris Teeter. It was my only choice. I was less than enthused, se I found myself simply buying potato rolls and saying "to heck with it."

In my experience, when it comes to hotdogs rolls and buns, new england style rolls, are rolls. They're a little chewie with some bite. Moist and soft. Buns are fluffier, a little lighter and drier in nature. Pepper Farms top-split buns are the latter - which is why I don't really consider them to be "New england" style rolls. And, based on their packagie labeling, they don't either. In fact, Pepperidge Farms packages (for both NE and regular) are the exact same weight, indicating there is no difference between the two.

I've never seen the Arnold New England Frank rolls. If I do, I'll comment on them. I've had their regular rolls, and they are a (better tasting) regular roll. A bit fluffy, airy and drier (not arid dry, just not moist to the point of chewy.)

Through a little research. Freihofer's sells both their rolls in groups of 8. The New England bag is heavier. A single New England roll is 43g, the regular roll is 37g. Suggesting to me, that their New England roll is done correctly as the denser product.

I was just thinking too, that another difference that affects taste and moisture content is the cooking process. The New England Style rolls are baked as a sort of single unit of 6 or 12. Therefore there's less surface area absorbing the heat, compared to 6 or 12 individual hot dog buns. Anyone who bakes a lot will know that the final texture on the inside will be different.

hmm, where's Alton Brown when you need him! [:o)

I'll eat other kinds if I have no choice, but NE style are my favorite, because of their density and chewiness as compared to "regular" buns. I'm lucky I can get them just about anywhere here as well. Nothing says summer in central NY quite like a snappy Hofmann German frank on a New England style bun. Jalapeno mustard on mine!

Scorereader

Through a little research. Freihofer's sells both their rolls in groups of 8. The New England bag is heavier. A single New England roll is 43g, the regular roll is 37g. Suggesting to me, that their New England roll is done correctly as the denser product.

Scorereader, unfortunately those two b****** bakers, George Weston and IBC, are corrupting the New England hot dog roll. I have already posted that  Weston has dropped the weight of all their hot dog roll packages (except Arnold) to 11 ounces. I realize there are still a few different nuitrition listings for Weston's Freihofer hot dog rolls on the web. However, in samples I  purchased in Yonkers, NY recently, the weight (11 oz), ingredient list, and nuitrition info for the side sliced and New England Style 8 pack of hot dog rolls were exacty the same.
Ingredients: Enriched Wheat Flour (flour, malted barely flour, reduced iron, niacin, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, soybean oil, salt, wheat gluten, monoglycerides, calcium propionate (preservative), calcium sulfate, datem, grain vinegar, monocalcium phosphate, soy lecithin,  azodicarbonamide, soy flour.
 
Serving size 1 roll 39 gram
Servings per container 8
calories 110  clories from fat 15
total fat 1.5g   2%
saturated fat  0g 0%
trans fat 0g
Choleststrol  0mg 0%
Sodium  210mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 7%
dietary fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 1g 4%
Protein 3g
 
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 4%
Iron 6%
Thiamin 10%
Riboflavin 6%
Niacin 6%
Folic Acid 10%
 
The top sliced buns are smaller in size and have less air than the side sliced, but when I eat the top sliced buns, they had nearly identical "chew" to the side sliced.
 
I also had a sample of LePage's New England style buns private labeled for Big Y supermarkets. These were more dense than Freihofer, but couldn't compare them to side sliced Big Y buns. Nonetheless, they reminded me of white bread dough.
 
I tried to get IBC's Nissen buns, but you can't find them in southern Connecticut anymore. Scuttlebutt on a "IBC sucks" message board indicates IBC is cheapening Nissen formulations.
 
The only other major players up there are Gold Medal and Homestead. Again, I have been unable to get a sample of those two brands. I will provide updates as I find more current samples.
 
For those folks for want to order by mail, here is the successor to mapleandmore.com:
http://nehotdogrolls.webs.com/
 
ADDENDUM: I didn't find this out until 11/20/2009, but Weston of Canada sold their US fresh baked goods line to Mexican-owned BIMBO Bakeries early in 2009.