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As a New England transplant I am forever having things shipped to my adopted home from there. Some things necessary, some not, but my somewhat recent purchase of a USA Pan New England Style Hot Dog Pan has joined the ranks of things that will have to be pried from my cold dead hands.
It arrived several weeks ago and I've been playing with it ever since trying it out with several hot dog roll recipes. Yes a roll, not a bun. The ubiquitous side split hot dog bun may be fine for most but some of us know a better way
I originally bought this pan for lobster and clam rolls (no self respecting New Englander would eat a lobster salad or fried clams out if anything else and the reasoning behind that will become clear as you read on) but these rolls are so outrageously good I will never voluntarily eat a store bought side loader again. The New England style hot dog roll is a top loader that stands up on a flat bottom and is delicious enough to eat on its own. Try that with a tasteless, chalky, store bought side loader 
Okay, maybe that’s being a little self-congratulatory, but really, what has greater potential to deliver something delicious on a hot New England summer day? The rolls are a perfect vehicle for grilled hot dogs topped with your favorite condiments, but they’re also the preferred roll for fresh Maine lobster rolls and fried clam rolls — two coastal New England classics.
Funny enough, it was actually fried clams (not hot dogs) that led to the top-sliced roll’s creation sometime in the 1940’s. A 2013 Boston Globe article reported that the Maine-based bakery J.J. Nissen debuted the roll at the request of Howard Johnson’s, the Massachusetts-based roadside motel and restaurant chain giant that peppered the American landscape during the 1960s and 1970s. HoJo’s needed a bun that could hold its signature clam strips without tipping over, and J.J. Nissen’s creation was not only stable, but had flat cut sides that toasted up beautifully when buttered. The traditional “hinge-style” hot dog bun didn’t come along until the 1950s.
The restaurant is credited with introducing the new style of bun to the country, where it became somewhat of a novelty, but here in New England, the roll became the roll of choice for hot dogs (aka frankfurters), lobster rolls, and clam rolls.
My USA Pan New England Style Hot Dog Roll pan is a thing of beauty. It is a heavy weight commercial baking pan with a non stick coating that is awesome enough for me to buy new cake pans from USA Pan. I'm very impressed with this pan. The hot dog rolls bake evenly and just fall out of it without even a hint of sticking
These are buttery rolls so we need to start with the right ingredients
After a few trials, I wound up discarding the recommended recipe and procedure for these hot dog rolls and put them together a bit differently by rolling them
individually and placing in the pan's troughs for a second rise before baking
Each time I use this pan I get a little better at it. Still working on shaping but I'm almost there.
These rolls have flat sides that can be buttered and toasted in a pan like a grilled cheese sandwich before loading. And they have flat bottoms so they stand up without any of that fall over nonsense
Dogs in buttery New England Style Top Loading Hot Dog Rolls fully dressed.
Tis a bit of heaven on Earth. Lobster rolls... here I come
It arrived several weeks ago and I've been playing with it ever since trying it out with several hot dog roll recipes. Yes a roll, not a bun. The ubiquitous side split hot dog bun may be fine for most but some of us know a better way
I originally bought this pan for lobster and clam rolls (no self respecting New Englander would eat a lobster salad or fried clams out if anything else and the reasoning behind that will become clear as you read on) but these rolls are so outrageously good I will never voluntarily eat a store bought side loader again. The New England style hot dog roll is a top loader that stands up on a flat bottom and is delicious enough to eat on its own. Try that with a tasteless, chalky, store bought side loader A bit of history from New England Today:
New England-Style Hot Dog Rolls
With a toasted, buttery outside and a soft inside, top-loading New England-style hot dog rolls are arguably some of the best buns in the world.New England-Style Hot Dog Rolls
Okay, maybe that’s being a little self-congratulatory, but really, what has greater potential to deliver something delicious on a hot New England summer day? The rolls are a perfect vehicle for grilled hot dogs topped with your favorite condiments, but they’re also the preferred roll for fresh Maine lobster rolls and fried clam rolls — two coastal New England classics.
Funny enough, it was actually fried clams (not hot dogs) that led to the top-sliced roll’s creation sometime in the 1940’s. A 2013 Boston Globe article reported that the Maine-based bakery J.J. Nissen debuted the roll at the request of Howard Johnson’s, the Massachusetts-based roadside motel and restaurant chain giant that peppered the American landscape during the 1960s and 1970s. HoJo’s needed a bun that could hold its signature clam strips without tipping over, and J.J. Nissen’s creation was not only stable, but had flat cut sides that toasted up beautifully when buttered. The traditional “hinge-style” hot dog bun didn’t come along until the 1950s.
The restaurant is credited with introducing the new style of bun to the country, where it became somewhat of a novelty, but here in New England, the roll became the roll of choice for hot dogs (aka frankfurters), lobster rolls, and clam rolls.
My USA Pan New England Style Hot Dog Roll pan is a thing of beauty. It is a heavy weight commercial baking pan with a non stick coating that is awesome enough for me to buy new cake pans from USA Pan. I'm very impressed with this pan. The hot dog rolls bake evenly and just fall out of it without even a hint of sticking
These are buttery rolls so we need to start with the right ingredients
After a few trials, I wound up discarding the recommended recipe and procedure for these hot dog rolls and put them together a bit differently by rolling them
individually and placing in the pan's troughs for a second rise before baking
Each time I use this pan I get a little better at it. Still working on shaping but I'm almost there.
These rolls have flat sides that can be buttered and toasted in a pan like a grilled cheese sandwich before loading. And they have flat bottoms so they stand up without any of that fall over nonsense
Dogs in buttery New England Style Top Loading Hot Dog Rolls fully dressed.
Tis a bit of heaven on Earth. Lobster rolls... here I come
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