Hawaiian Pizza Dog on Homemade Garlic Pretzel Bun

The last post we did was about Sue's 1st prize winning entry in our weekly Chopped: Quarantine Edition (Pineapple and flour) competition. Check it out HERE. (Korean Inspired Spicy Tacos with Pineapple Salsa and Homemade Tortillas) 

This week I'm sharing my entry, which came in third. I was pretty excited to come in third, we had a lot of fabulous entries for our pineapple and flour competition. Did it deserve a first place finish? Well.... I'm a bit biased so I'm going to say yeeeessssss. But, make it yourself and let me know what you think! Pretzel garlic hot dog buns make hot dogs even better - if that's possible! 

It's like pizza and pretzels and hot dogs had a baby. A delicious, delicious baby.

Hawaiian Pizza Dog on Homemade Garlic Pretzel Bun

Ingredients

Buns

2 cups very warm milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp honey

4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp salt

2 - 5 cups bread flour (or AP)

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbsp coarse sea salt

8 cups water

1/3 cup baking soda

Pizza Dogs

12 large wieners

pizza sauce

onions, sliced

pineapple chunks

mozza cheese

Directions

Prepare buns - In a small bowl, stir together the milk brown sugar, honey, and yeast. Let sit to bloom about 5 - 8 minutes. 

While yeast is blooming, cook the butter, garlic and parsley over medium heat until garlic is softened, about 3 - 5 minutes. Set aside.

Combine the flour, and salt, egg, and cooked butter and garlic. Stir in the bloomed yeast and salt. Add in enough flour to form a stiff dough that is a little sticky but still able to be kneaded. Knead for about 5 minutes, you may have to add a bit more flour to keep it from sticking. 

Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise somewhere warm for 40 minutes. 

After 40 minutes your dough should be doubled in size. 

Punch dough down and cut into 10 to 12 equal pieces. You can weight them to get them exact but I never do. I just guesstimate. :) 

Roll each piece into a 7 inch log. Try to get it smooth, if there are wrinkles then they will show up more prominently when the dough rises. 

Set aside and cover with a tea towel for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Bring the 8 cups of water with the 1/3 cup baking soda to a low boil over medium heat in a large pot. 

Carefully place 2 - 3 rolls into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Carefully flip them over and cook another 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Brush each one with the beaten egg and then sprinkle generously with the coarse sea salt. Cut 3 shallow slices across the top of each bun (not totally necessary but it looks cool). 

Place in 425 oven and cook until deep golden brown, about 10 - 15 minutes. 

Let cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. 

FYI - recipe can be doubled easily. 

You can eat as is. May I recommend warm with butter?

Or cut them horizontally for hot dog buns! 

Prepare Hawaiian dogs - Place buns on a cookie tray. Spread the inside of the cut pretzel buns with pizza sauce and top with onions. 

Cook the wieners to your desired level of doneness! Place a wiener on each bun. Top with pineapple chunks. 

Lay the mozza cheese slices on top and pop them in the oven under the broiler to melt the cheese. 

Serve hot!

You can add more toppings if you prefer. I like to keep it simple. Lots of pineapple and mozza! 

Want to jazz up your next hot dog meal? This is how to do it! You can make the buns ahead of time and freeze them. The salt on top will look a little funky when you thaw them but it won't affect the taste! Use the buns for subs, sandwiches, hot dogs, even grilled cheese. You can leave the garlic out if you like but it definitely makes the buns more flavorable. 

Want to make a regular Hawaiian Pizza? Click HERE for our version!