About this Recipe
Hot dogs were a staple of my childhood (for better or for worse!), especially during the summer. Whether it was backyard cookouts, pool days, or quick weeknight dinners, there always seemed to be a pack of hot dogs in our fridge. The only thing I never loved? The store-bought buns. They always felt dry, a little too bland, and never quite stood equally beside the wonderful dogs.
Lately, I’ve been having so much fun experimenting with my sourdough recipes by incorporating different cheeses, herbs, and savory mix-ins, so naturally, I had to create a loaf inspired by one of my favorite nostalgic summer meals. This cheesy hot dog sourdough combines a soft, chewy crumb with pockets of melty cheese and savory hot dogs baked right into the bread, creating a loaf that’s hearty, flavorful, and arguably a little eyebrow raising- but its delicious and fun!
Whether you’re serving it alongside a bowl of chili, toasting thick slices for lunch, or simply enjoying it warm with a little tomato butter, this loaf is a fun twist on classic sourdough that brings so me so much nostalgia- and I hope you love it too!
Key Ingredients
Active sourdough starter — A bubbly, active starter is essential for a well-risen loaf with an airy crumb and classic sourdough flavor. Make sure your starter has doubled in size and is at its peak before mixing the dough.
Bread flour — Provides the strength and structure needed to support the cheese and hot dogs while still producing a soft, chewy crumb.
Water — Hydrates the dough and helps create an open, tender crumb. Room temperature water works best for consistent fermentation.
Salt — Enhances the overall flavor of the bread while also strengthening the gluten structure and helping regulate fermentation.
Sugar — A small amount of sugar balances the tanginess of the sourdough, encourages browning during baking, and complements the savory flavors of the cheese and hot dogs.
High-quality hard cheese — I recommend using a firm cheese like sharp cheddar or another aged cheese. Hard cheeses hold their shape better during baking, giving you pockets of melty cheese throughout the loaf without releasing excess moisture. No one wants a soggy loaf!
Hot dogs – Duh! The star of the loaf! Slice them into bite-sized pieces so they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough, ensuring every slice is packed with savory flavor.
FAQ’s
Helpful Tips
- Use a kitchen scale: For the most consistent results, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients instead of using measuring cups. Sourdough is all about precision, and even a small difference in flour or water can affect the dough’s texture and fermentation. A kitchen scale takes the guesswork out of baking and helps you achieve the same results every time.
- Start with an active starter: Your sourdough starter should be bubbly, active, and at or near its peak before mixing the dough. An underactive starter can lead to a dense loaf with less oven spring.
- Choose a firm cheese: Hard cheeses, like sharp cheddar, hold their shape better during baking and create pockets of melty cheese without adding too much moisture to the dough.
- Don’t rush fermentation: Rise times will vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Instead of watching the clock, watch your dough. It should look noticeably puffier and feel light and airy before baking.
- Allow the loaf to cool before slicing: As tempting as it is to cut into warm bread, letting it cool for at least an hour allows the crumb to finish setting, making for cleaner slices and a better texture.
More Recipes!
Here are some more recipes you might enjoy!
Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread
Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough
If you try this recipe, I would love your feedback! Please leave a star rating, a comment below or on the reel in Instagram! Also please share what you made and tag @eatatmaudes !! Thank you so much for stopping by and making yumminess with me!
Cheesy Hotdog Sourdough
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Equipment
- Large tea towel
Ingredients
- 100 g (about 1/2 cup) bubbly, active starter
- 375 g (1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp) lukewarm water (about 95 degrees, no warmer)
- 500 g (4 cups plus 2 tbsp) bread flour
- 12 g sea salt
- 10 g granulated sugar (helps with browning and additional flavor!)
- 70 g low-moisture cheese, cubed (gouda & sharp cheddar work great)
- 198g (7 oz) hotdogs, sliced (your choice!)
- white rice flour- for shaping
- ice cubes (for baking)
Instructions
Enable Step-by-Step Mode- To a large bowl, add active, bubbly starter. To the same bowl, add the water and using a dough whisk (or wooden spoon), begin mixing until water and starter are combined. Add flour, sea salt and sugar. Mix again until a shaggy dough forms!
- Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it sit for 30 minutes. Over the course of the next two hours, we will stretch and fold our dough in 30 minute increments. After the first 30 minutes has passed, remove the towel, wet your hands lightly (to keep the dough from sticking) and begin the stretch and fold. To do this, pull the top of the dough (12 o’clock) up and fold down to 6 o’clock. Turn your bowl, 45 degrees and repeat this process 3 more times. Cover the dough with the tea towel and repeat this step of folds 3 more times.
- (By the time you are done with the stretch and folds, roughly two hours will pass Note: Every time you perform a series of stretch and folds, you should notice the dough becoming more elastic and stretchy. You will be able to stretch the dough higher and higher, with more give. This is a good sign!)
- Now for the bulk fermentation (this takes several hours). Cover the dough, place it in a draft free place and let it rise about 50% (or 75% and noticeably puffy) . The time for this can vary depending on how active the starter is and how warm your kitchen is. Check on the dough every 2 hours to monitor the progress (in my personal experience, it usually takes my dough about 6 hrs.
- After the dough has risen 50% move the dough to a lightly floured surface and lightly start pulling/stretching all the sides out- be gentle and try not to tear the dough. Once stretched out, I like to start arranging my hotdogs and cheese on top. Use 1/2 of the cheese and dogs- reserve the other half.
- Then, like wrapping a baby in a blanket, pull all of the sides inward. Then from bottom to top, roll the dough up like a burrito or rug. Try to ensure your rolling is tight. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to help move and shape the dough into a nice ball. Seam side will be down against your counter or board after rolling the dough into a ball.
- Gently flip the dough over so the seam side is up, let the dough rest for about 40 minutes (again seam side up). We call this the “bench rest” because we are building tension in the dough and then letting it relax/ferment just a bit more before we shape it one last time.
- While the dough rests prep your bread banneton. I place a large tea towel in the basket and sprinkle liberally with brown rice flour. This keeps the dough from sticking to the towel.
- After 40 minutes of bench rest, with the seam side still up, begin stretching out the dough again. Add the remaining hotdogs and cheese. ** Note: I like to reserve 1-3 cubes of cheese and hotdogs for the top of the loaf just before baking. This is optional but looks nice!
- Once again, like wrapping a baby in a blanket, pull all of the sides inward. Then from bottom to top, roll the dough up like a burrito or rug. Try to ensure your rolling is tight. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to help move and shape the dough into a nice ball. Seam side will be down against your counter or board after rolling the dough into a ball.
- Flip the dough over, seam side up, place the dough into the prepared banneton. Fold the tea towel over the bread and cover it tightly. We don’t want any air escaping from the towel. If your banneton came with a cover, feel free to cover the banneton with that. Place the dough in the fridge to rest for at least 12 hours, 24 hours preferred.
- When ready to bake, place a dutch oven, in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Leave dutch oven (with top on) in the oven for about 35 minutes (we want the dutch oven to be nice and hot when the bread goes in).
- While the dutch oven is warming, remove bread from the fridge. On a flat surface lay out a piece of parchment paper (should be large enough for the dough to sit on and lift into the dutch oven later. Open the tea towel so the dough seam side is exposed, then gently turn the banneton over so the seam side of the dough is down on the parchment and peel the tea towel off of the dough. Cover the dough generously with the rice flour. Using a bread lame, score the bread to your liking. Add the reserved cheese and hotdogs if desired.
- Very carefully, wearing thick oven mitts, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and place on a cooling rack or heat proof surface! Remove the top, carefully lift and lower the parchment paper holding the bread dough into the dutch oven. Moving quickly, place two ice cubes on opposite sides in between the parchment paper and the Dutch oven. Place the top back on the dutch oven and into the oven she goes! (Note: the ice cubes help create steam which helps make the bread crispy!)
- Lower the oven temp to 450, bake for 30 min. Remove the top of the Dutch oven, then bake for another 15 min (uncovered) For the last 10 min I remove my loaf from the dutch oven and set it on oven rack in the oven. This helps it get nice and brown! Remove from the oven, using your oven mitts. Internal temp should be about 205-208 degrees F! Let the bread rest for at least 40 minutes, 1 hr preferred! Slice & Enjoy!