Homemade Pretzel Rolls: soft on the inside, salty and chewy on the outside, and now better than ever! No lye necessary, these fluffy, perfectly browned, slider-sized pretzels are surprisingly easy to make. Fill them with ham and cheese, bratwurst, or even mini burgers.
Hot. Tempting. Perfectly tanned. I'm talking about pretzels, ladies and gents.
You’ve had them in tiny twists, soft braids, and buttery mall-bought goodness, but you can never get sick of pretzels (in all of their different forms, of course). Or at least I know I can't. And trust me when I say that I've given it my best effort-- I worked at Auntie Anne's from the age of 15 to 22 and I still am obsessed with the beautifully browned snacks. Especially when they're in Pretzel Roll form.
Yes, even to this day, almost 5 years since I originally wrote this pretzel recipe.
My first ever recipe.
James always talks about these Pretzel Rolls because he's a fellow pretzel aficionado. (I pick 'em well.) He gives the recipe link out to his friends and coworkers, urging them to make the rolls, talking me up. But to be honest, it's been a bit embarrassing. Though the Pretzel Rolls were incredibly tasty and wonderfully chewy, I really hadn't nailed the whole food blogging thing yet when I first made this post so my pictures and writing were... well, sub-par to say the least. So I finally figured it was time I changed that.
Traditional Pretzel Rolls (called Laugenbrötchen in Germany, where they originate) are made using lye, but regardless of whether I'm a novice or expert baker, I'll never feel comfortable using it. Every time I imagine myself fuddling around in the kitchen with lye, I flash back to that scene from Fight Club-- you know, the one where Tyler Durden sadistically explains, "It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything" as Edward Norton's character's hand is melting off? Yes, that one.
Since I'd like to avoid chemical burns at all costs, I've always nixed the lye when I've made pretzels and used a baking soda bath instead. And you know what? They turn out absolutely perfectly without the lye, if I do say so myself.
Now, this time around I decided to make my Pretzel Rolls into more of a pretzel slider bun configuration, since that's how I'd wind up using them (spoiler alert!) but you can still bake them separately to make them more rounded as I did with the originals. Simply space them out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet instead of allowing them to rise together in a baking dish. Either way, they're amazing.
Eat them with mustard, spread on some nutella, or just enjoy these Pretzel Rolls as they are and wash them down with some Bavarian lager. They're great vessels for any kind of dip, spread, meat, or cheese, making them a creative and tasty way to upgrade from plain bread or crackers at a party. My favorite way? Definitely Bratwurst Sliders. Check 'em out.
Pretzel Rolls
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup water at 110°F
- 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cups baking soda
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
- Pretzel Salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, active dry yeast, and brown sugar. Allow to sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Sift in the flour, then add in the salt and melted butter. Mix until no large clumps of flour remain (the dough will be slightly sticky). If mixing by hand, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 additional minutes.
- Spray your mixing bowl with nonstick spray, place the dough back in, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free spot for about an hour, or until doubled in size. (See notes.)
- Turn the dough out onto a floured counter. Using a pizza cutter or a long knife, divide the dough into 12 even-sized wedges.
- Spray a 3 quart baking dish with nonstick spray. Form each dough wedge into a sphere by pulling the edges toward the center and pinching them together. Place the dough in the prepared baking dish, seam-side down, and space evenly apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an additional hour. Then prepare the baking soda bath.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a low boil. Remove from heat and slowly add the baking soda, a bit at a time, whisking to combine. Place back on heat and lower to a simmer.
- One at a time, transfer a risen dough ball into the baking soda bath, seam side down, and poach for 30 seconds. Then turn over and continue to poach for 30 more seconds. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the poached dough back to the prepared baking dish, making sure not to transfer too much of the baking solution with it (or you'll wind up with soggy-bottomed pretzels). Continue until all of the dough balls have been poached and they fit snugly together.
- Brush the dough balls lightly with the egg wash, making sure to get in the nooks between the dough balls. Sprinkle with pretzel salt.
- Using a sharp paring knife, make two slashes in the tops of the dough balls. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until cooked through and well-browned. Let cool slightly in the pan and then gently lift out to serve.
Notes
When it's cold out, it may take longer for your dough to rise. To prevent this, I usually preheat my oven to the lowest setting, turn the oven off, let it cool for 5 minutes, and then place my bowl of dough in there to rise. The slight additional heat will help, and keeping the oven door closed prevents drafts.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Bread
- Cuisine: German
Jackie Redlitz says
Everything looks so amazing!! I am so excited this blog is up so I can follow your recipes and try to recreate them on my own! Great job Morgan! I will definitely keep you posted on how these turn out when I make them!!
Morgan says
Thanks Jackie!
Berner says
Made these today and they are AWESOME. It was actually my first time making anything that comes from a dough. Nailed it!
Morgan says
So happy to hear that you're enjoying them!
jules says
hey guys, greetz from getmany (the southern part), I was slightly shocked to read that you like eating Laugenbrötchen with mustard or Nutella.whaaaaat? :-)))) we like to eat them with butter and or salami ham gherkins cucumbers salad boiled eggs cheese or liverwurst. yummy:http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&gl=DE&biw=360&bih=531&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UM_8UcXCAqmo4gTI1IHoDg&q=belegte+laugenbroetchen&oq=&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.1.0.41.53011.54057.0.83351.16.6.0.4.4.3.163.730.2j4.6.0....0...1c.1.23.mobile-gws-serp..9.7.504.D-jFPQ5bjDA
Morgan says
I'll eat Laugenbroetchen with pretty much anything, Jules! Haha. Where in Southern Germany are you from, by the way? My family is from Karlsruhe.
Jules says
Right now I'm gonna get myself a Brezel (I'll remove the salt, hehe) -this blog is making me hungry. I live about 1h from KA 🙂 . Btw I have never baked a Laugenbroetchen by myself. Have you already written s blg entry about Dampfnudeln???? Hmmmmmm.
Morgan says
Jules, I haven't written about Dampfnudeln yet, but I will soon! I made them with my Omi and had every intention of putting them up, but the lighting wasn't good in the pictures so I keep wanting to redo them! I *love* Dampfnudeln!
Jules says
oh sounds perfect. but now I'm even more hungry.
Ellen says
How many does this make?
Morgan says
I can't quite remember but I believe it was slightly over a dozen. Sorry I can't give you an exact number, it's been a long time since I whipped up a batch!
Tim says
"I wouldn’t lie to you."
You missed a great pun opportunity here!
Morgan says
Dammit, you're right!
Christina Miller says
Amazing recipe! I've been making these 4 years and this recipe tops all others I've done! Can't wait for my family from Germany to try them when they come next year 😀
Amanda E says
Thank you so much for such a great recipe, especially the actual instructions! Just made these and oh my gosh are they so good. My husband is a HUGE fan of pretzel rolls, and so I was scared these wouldn't measure up, but he definitely gave his stamp of approval! 🙂
richard culler says
just discovered. am planning on baking this weekend.
G says
Delicious, thank you. I very nearly caved and bought store made pretzel rolls. So glad I put in the time. I served these with your Tomato Bacon Bisque recipe & received rave reviews from my family. RAVE. My overtired 5yr old, who had been screaming and tantruming a few minutes prior to dinner even calmly & quietly asked for a 2nd one. My 7yr old, an hour after dinner, commented again on how good the rolls were.
I added close to 2 cups flour in step 5 & the dough was still rather sticky, but turned out alright in the end.
I also refrigerated the dough after the first rise & kept it in there for a few hours until I made the rolls for dinner & they turned out alright.
I made 23 rolls (avg. dinner roll size) & still have probably half of the dough left, which I am going to freeze for another time.
Janet Levy says
I've made several pretzel roll recipes and have always used food grade lye for "pretzeling" as I find the result superior to that of baking soda.
Have you tried skipping step 7, brushing the rolls with lye and baking in the oven?
Pallavi says
Hi,
Can we bake this in the normal pretzel shape?
Arliss Teetsel says
First time made pretzels & won't be the last! Fantastic taste & texture hot out of oven with mustard..ummmm yum! Will be trying your pretzel rolls recipe this week too...thank you for your fab recipes!