Homemade Bagel Dogs

In an effort to impress you all with the lengths to which we will go here in the Circle B Kitchen to provide the highest in culinary excellence, I give you the bagel dog.  Oh, scoff if you will, but these are no ordinary bagel dogs.  I have no patience with ordinary bagel dogs.  OK, that’s not entirely true, but I’m pretty stoked about these.

Not long ago, my Google+ Circle spent a fair amount of time lamenting the lack of good bagel dogs in our lives.  It took me about a nanosecond to decide to remedy this situation and make it a personal quest to create not just a good bagel dog, but a really great one.  I would not be deterred.

A few days of research later, I stood in the kitchen with 3 different bagel dough recipes and two different techniques for making them into bagel dogs and more than a little pessimism about combining them into one coherently delicious recipe.  I certainly didn’t expect to nail it on the first try, but as luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened.  Nailed it.  I mean, like beyond what I had been hoping for.  These, people, are incredibly awesome dogs.  The bagel part is light, yet chewy, and has this wondrous little crunch on the outside, creating what I now believe is the perfect complement to a lusciously good hot dog.  Fluffy, chewy, crispy... the culinary trifecta for a good bagel, and thusly, a very incredible bagel dog.

 Now, just a moment to mention that these are turkey bagel dogs.  It's been incredibly difficult, as you can well imagine, to find a decent turkey dog, but I believe I've finally found it.  These are Bar S jumbo turkey franks and they're awesome.  Recently, the San Francisco Chronicle did their own research on the best turkey dogs and decided they liked Foster Farms the best.  I haven't been able to find those, but they didn't try the Bar S in their research and we liked them a lot.  Second place in the study is the Welshire Farms brand found at Whole Foods and most health food stores.  So there you have it, people, it is actually possible to find a decent, if not wondrous turkey dog out there!!

So here’s how you make them…

Just throw your dough ingredients together, let them rise for an hour and then divide it into 5 or 6 equal-sized pieces (these will each be divided in half again), depending on how many hot dogs you have.

Roll each piece out to about 2 1/2 inches x 11.  Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the strip of dough in half.

Lay one end of the hot dog at a diagonal on the end of the strip of dough.

Roll the hot dog up over the dough until it is covered with the dough and pinch to seal the ends tightly.

If desired, roll the bagel dog in toppings of your choice.  I used sesame seeds and poppy seeds, but this step is totally optional.

As you finish each one, place it on a parchment-lined backing sheet.  Let them rise for about 10 minutes and then plunge them into boiling water for a couple of minutes.  Then bake them for about 20-25 minutes and that’s it!!  Voila!   You will not believe.  You will just not believe how good these are.  Eat them while they’re warm or let em cool and freeze them.  They reheat beautifully.  We dipped ours in mustard and we topped em with chili and we ate em plain and they were all incredibly wonderful.

My work here is done; the world is now a better place for those of us who crave a good bagel dog now and then.  Here’s the recipe…

Homemade Bagel Dogs

Click here for a printable recipe

Makes 10-12 bagel dogs

This makes enough bagel dough to do 10 dogs, but will easily stretch to make 12 if you would like.  I dipped my bagel dogs in a mixture of sesame and poppy seeds, but you can choose whatever seed mixture you like or skip this step completely.  I would recommend that you maybe wait to apply the seeds until after you brush the bagel dogs with the egg whites toward the end of cooking.

4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
1 3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp salt
1 beaten egg white for finishing
8-10 good quality hot dogs

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, warm water and yeast.  Let sit for 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the flour, salt and vegetable oil.  Mix the dough thoroughly until it comes together in a large ball.  Knead either in the mixer or by hand for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise for an hour.

Divide the dough into 5 or 6 pieces and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.  Roll the first piece into a strip about 2 1/2" x 11".  Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each piece in half lengthwise.  Working with one piece at a time, lay your hot dog at an angle at one end of the dough.  Roll the hot dog up the strip of dough and then pinch the ends really well to seal.  Place the bagel dogs on a floured board or piece of parchment paper and cover with a kitchen towel while you assemble the rest.

When they're all made, let them rest 5-10 minutes and then place them in boiling water (a few at a time depending on the size of your pan).  Let them boil for a couple of minutes, turning gently to make sure they cook evenly.  Then gently remove them from the water and place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  After 10 minutes, pull them out and brush them with the beaten egg white and sprinkle them with a few more seeds if you like.  Return them to the oven to continue baking. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly before eating.  If you are not going to eat them right away, let them cool completely and then place in ziploc bags and freeze.  To reheat, let them come to room temperature and then place in a 350 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes.  Serve with the condiments of your choice.

Comments

[Maggie]

My kids would love these! I haven't worked with yeast dough much, but I'm going to give these a try. Yum!

[Patrice Berry]

This is a very easy dough to work with, Maggie. I hope you do make them!! Thanks for checking in.

[Theresa]

Wow, these look amazing! I haven't had a bagel dog in 10 years. I like that you can freeze them and have them on hand.

[Theresa]

Yum! I've been wondering about making these, but think I'll cut the hot dogs in half and make smaller ones. Thanks for the post!

[Patrice Berry]

I thought of making small ones next time too, Theresa. Great idea!

[Barb]

Wow! Do these ever look good!

[Melissa]

What a fun idea!

[Katherine]

I've been buying frozen bagel dogs for the kids, but I'm going to try these. I don't think the frozen ones are all that good and I like the idea of using a turkey dog in them.

[Marcia]

I couldn't wait to make these and I finally got to it yesterday. They were wonderful! My kids and 2 of their friends ate most of them but I was able to save a couple for my husband and myself. We loved them. You were so right about that bagel crust. Wow, was it good. They were surprisingly easy to make too. Thanks!

[Mikel]

Thank you for your efforts! Thanks to your recipe I also got the recipe right the first try. haha. The bread is nice and chewy like it should be. I recommend spreading some egg whites on the outside after assembling and before you roll them in the seeds. This will help the seeds adhere nicely to the bread. Also, you will want to close the ends off around the dog so it doesn't slip out of the end while you are eating it. I wonder if there is something you can do to help the bread stick to the hot dog better?

[Patrice Berry]

Thanks for the input, Mikel. I've done it both ways - put the egg whites and seeds on before boiling and after, and I think the seeds stick better if you put them on with the egg whites about 10 minutes into the baking period. But both ways work fine. I, too prefer to completely encase the hot dog in the dough, but it just didn't make for a very good photo. But again, either way works great. Make sure your hot dog is completely dry before applying the dough, that will help it stick to the dough better. Hope this helps. Nice to hear from you, Mikel.