Food Finds - H&F Bread Co. hot dog buns

H&F Bread Co.’s head baker, Rob Alexander, has quite the pedigree. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native’s bread making skills landed him a sweet gig as the overseer of all things baked for chef Thomas Keller’s restaurants in California before moving to the Model Bakery. Family brought him to Atlanta in 2008 and he soon joined the H&F team. The breads showed an immediate improvement and his assortment continues to evolve.

Holeman and Finch’s burger — and its bun — is the stuff of legend in Atlanta. So it’s only natural that hot dogs follow its lead. The H&F hot dog bun may well be the best hot dog bun you will ever eat in your life. The buns are oversized, making them perfect for an old-school natural casing wiener. The dough is similar to the burger’s bun — with a few tweaks. Alexander based it on a bun he made while working in Chicago. The recipe is simple — sugar, flour, water, salt, yeast and butter. But the flakiness comes from a “special” ingredient: croissant dough scraps. The buns also have a nice amount of chew and intense breadiness from the fermentation. You’re not limited to hot dogs; these buns would make one beautiful vehicle for a lobster roll.

H&F Bread Co. may have closed its retail store, but that hasn’t stopped the fans from seeking the stupendous breads at places such as the Peachtree Road Farmers Market and Savor Specialty Foods. You can also find H&F’s breads at the Emory Farmers Market on Tuesdays, the Dunwoody farmers markets on Wednesday and the East Atlanta Farmers Market on Thursdays. They sell out fast on the weekends, so don’t sleep in.

For more information, visit www.hfbreadco.com.