French Toast Is The Sweet Way To Use All Those Leftover Hot Dog Buns

One of the enduring mysteries in the food world is: "Why do hot dogs come in packages of 10 and hot dog buns in packages of eight?" There's actually an answer: There are 10 standard-sized dogs to a pound, whereas buns are baked eight to a pan, but the consequence is that you need two packages of buns to get through a single package of hot dogs, thus leaving you with half a dozen leftover buns. Are you going to buy more hot dogs and start the vicious cycle all over again, hoping you'll eventually catch up? Sure, that'll work since you'll break even once you hit 40 of each, but if you're getting sick of eating hot dogs night after night, here's a different idea: Use those leftover buns to make French toast instead.

What kind of French toast can be made with hot dog buns? Just about any kind, since hot dog buns are bread, after all. Split them in half and flatten them a bit to use in traditional French toast, or cut them in chunks and toss them into a French toast casserole. You can also try leaving them intact to make super-sized French toast sticks.

Although we originally proposed French toast as the sweet solution to your leftover hot dog bun woes, this doesn't mean you have to stick to the sugary, syrup-soaked kind. Sweet-and-savory food mashups are still having a moment, one that's been going on since ancient Rome when epicures feasted on honey-topped omelets. With this millennia-old precedent in mind, feel free to repurpose those buns in savory French toast by simply omitting any sugar and other sweet stuff from a standard recipe.

If you want to fancy things up, you could slip a slice of American cheese between the batter-soaked buns for a French toast grilled cheese sandwich, or stick in some ham for a Monte Cristo. You could also make a savory breakfast casserole or strata, as this could be seen as a kind of French toast. While such a casserole might incorporate any kind of breakfast meat, you could even go full circle and use sliced hot dogs. Doing so would indicate that you don't really have a leftover bun problem so much as a disinclination to play by the standard food rules, and we're completely down with you shaking things up with those deconstructed dogs. In fact, why not finish off the dish with Chicago-style hot dog toppings, then douse the whole thing in ketchup and watch the foodies faint from shock? 

While tearing down traditions can be fun, the basic idea of turning surplus hot dog buns into French toast is in keeping with the nature of the dish. As it turns out, French toast isn't actually from France. It seems to have started out in ancient Rome, or at least that's where we have the earliest recording of people dipping their too-crusty bread in some kind of batter. When the recipe made it to France, people began calling "pain a la Romaine," or "Roman bread" in recognition of its origins. Later, however, it was renamed "pain perdu" or "lost bread" to indicate that it was using up bread that might otherwise have been discarded due to staleness.

Hot dog buns, on the other hand, are a relative newcomer to the food scene; the first bread rolls created specifically for holding frankfurters supposedly date to the late 19th century. The notion of using them in French toast isn't all that new, much as we'd like to claim credit, since people were pondering it back in the '00s. Even if it's not that groundbreaking of a concept, it's something to keep in mind after your next barbecue.