Soft Pretzel Rolls Recipe
Soft pretzel rolls that you get at the ballpark or from a street vendor are easy to re-create at home. This recipe uses a basic dough that’s good to try your hand at if you’re a bread-making novice. And the trick to the malty flavor so key to a good pretzel? The dough takes a dip in a baking soda solution before going into the oven. Try these rolls on their own, dipped in our Sweet Hot Mustard, or toasted in a grilled cheese.
- 1 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
- 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- Vegetable oil
- 2 3/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 6 cups water
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- Place the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside to rest until the mixture bubbles, about 5 minutes. (If the mixture does not bubble, either the liquid was not at the correct temperature or the yeast is old.) Meanwhile, coat a large mixing bowl with a thin layer of vegetable oil and set aside.
- Place the flour, sugar, and measured salt in a large bowl and whisk briefly to break up any lumps and combine. Once the yeast is ready, fit the bowl on the mixer, attach a dough hook, and dump in the flour mixture. Mix on the lowest setting until the dough comes together, then increase to medium speed and mix until the dough is elastic and smooth, about 8 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball, place in the oiled mixing bowl, and turn the dough to coat in oil. Cover with a clean, damp dishtowel and let rest in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 30 to 35 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, coat the paper with vegetable oil, and set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and knead it on a floured, dry surface just until it becomes smooth and springs back when poked, about 1 minute. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and form into oblong rolls. Place the rolls on the baking sheet and cut 4 (2-inch) diagonal slashes across the top of each. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until almost doubled in volume, about 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425°F and bring the 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat.
- Once the rolls have risen, stir the baking soda into the boiling water (the water will foam up slightly). Boil two or three rolls for 2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, remove the rolls, drain, and place on the baking sheet, cut side up. Sprinkle well with salt and repeat with the remaining rolls.
- Once all the rolls are ready, place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve hot.
I tried to make them one at a time in a smaller pot. After the 2nd one they seemed to get soggy. I believe what happened is that the baking soda was evaporating or being absorbed and the ration to water was incorrect. I emptied and refilled and they turned out fine. Next time I will use a bigger pan.
I have pretzels on the menu at work and I steam them OVER a baking soda bath for about 4 min. I also brush each one with an egg white wash to ensure that deep, dark pretzel crust. I came to the steaming conclusion by trial and error, experimenting is key! I like the previous ideas of rye flour and buttermilk, I can't wait to try!
They were awesome! Boiled for 2 min a side and did NOT get mushy. I recommend making sure that your dough is suitably elastic. Used them as hamburger rolls. OMG so good! I am making them again they are so delicious.
I am with t.carey83 - boiling for four minutes total is way too long: I boil mine for about 10-15 seconds total, and they are perfect.
I think this recipe is BS. Boiling the pretzels for 2 mins per side turns them to mush.
I made these today as the base for a ham & cheese sandwich and they are really great...turned out perfectly golden brown and chewy.
Dingdingding! The winner! Man, these are terrific! I first heard about Pretzel rolls on one of those Food Network shows that visit legendary local restaurants all over the country. The host was raving about a restaurant's use of Pretzel rolls as hamburger buns, and my search for a good recipe led me here. I'll definitely use this recipe often. I followed the directions exactly and they came out just right. I'd say the size of the individual rolls is just right to be used as dinner rolls, but I'd want them a little bigger to use for sandwiches or hamburger buns. Also, add in the baking soda slowly and make sure your saucepan is big enough to handle the initial foam up--I didn't do either and today I'll spend some time cleaning my cooktop.
If you are adventuresome, you could try a 'lye' solution for the water dip. I know on some of the bread blogs they use that for pretzels although I just use the baking soda. And, yes, these blogs also mentioned using a mother or using a preferment period to give the dough a bit of tang. As an experiement for super bowl Sunday, I did three different recipes for soft pretzels and they all came out quite differently, so it pays to experiment a bit! I like the idea of buttermilk, too, and I'll try that next time.
Does anyone know whether the malt syrup makes a difference? Haven't tried the recipe yet, but I thought you needed a mother in order to have a pretzel dough that tastes correctly. Does the baking soda really give it that pretzel taste?
jodymaryk, try using half rye flour, half bread flour. That will darken the color. Also, use be sure to use unbleached bread flour.
I'm thinking of making these and using Buttermilk (I have some left over) It'll be an experiment, but it could be good!
Why did mine turn out spongy??? They tasted great, but they looked awful and had a funny texture - nothing like the picture! Please help!
jodymaryk, try using just the yolk (and water of course) in your egg wash.
Just made these today and they turned out pretty good. I didn't have parchment paper so just did them on a oiled cookie sheet. Bottems were a little wet so next time will buy the parchment paper. Also they were good sized so next time I am going to make 12 or 16 instead of 8. We have a restaurant by us that does pretzel rolls on Thursdays and Fridays. They come out darker then these and a thick outside. Maybe boiling them a second time?? I used an egg and water wash and they got a nice shiny golden brown. The restaurant rolls are darker, like a hard pretzel color. Any ideas on how to get them like that?
to make an appetizer take small pieces of dough,put a piece of kielbasa in it seall closed serve w/mustard after boiling & baking
Can you buy pretzel dough already made anywhere & then just bake it?
Okay ... two things. 1) I made like pretzel bites as suggested by Teraesa22. It worked! They cooked a bit unevenly but I think that's because I wasn't careful in shaping them evenly. And 2) I'm sure I'll be laughed at here on CH, but I was being lazy and decided to try making the dough using my bread machine on the dough function. So easy. Dough was fine. Then I picked up the recipe at the cut into 8 blobs part. I will definitely be making these again!
Can anyone think of a way to turn this into a sort of appetizer? I am thinking I can roll the dough & cut into small bites for soft pretzel bites with a variety of dipping sauces. Any other ideas?
I tried this on Sunday, wonderful, really good tasting pretzels. I modified it slightly by adding a Tbls of malt extract syrup to the mix and to the water I boiled them in. They baked up beautiful and brown. Great recipe - thanks
oh-, this recipe was good ! just like the one you can buy from good pretzel place. It was so simple but really tasty. I'll definitely make again.