Wholesome Wednesday: Pretzel Buns Recipe

No matter how hard I tried last week, Wholesome Wednesday was not meant to be.  For the life of me I couldn't get it done.  I'm sorry.  :(  I've been busy with a lot of behind the scenes blogging things.

Yesterday inspiration struck though.  The both of us had this taste for pretzels and thought why not make pretzel rolls??  So my sister googled some recipes and this is the one we found from My Life as a Mrs..  Salted Pretzel Rolls sounded just like what we needed.  From the blog post I figured they'd make excellent buns for burgers, which made us want to make them even more.

I did cheat and use the bread machine though.  I've found that no matter how proficient a baker I am, the bread machine always makes perfect dough.  ALWAYS.  I'm so glad we have one.  When I do instructions it will be as if for a bread machine.  If you want to make the dough by hand, by all means check the link above for those instructions.

These were chewy on the outside, soft on the inside and just salty enough to make an awesome pretzel roll.  The pretzel buns were the perfect size for burgers too.

Pretzel Buns

1 1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
kosher salt

In your bread machine add the ingredients in the order listed, starting with water and adding the yeast last.  Set the bread machine to the dough cycle and turn it on.  Standing by with a scraper make sure dough isn't too dry.  If you still see loose flour on the bottom, drizzle in extra water till all ingredients are incorporated.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Remove dough from bread machine and place on a lightly floured surface.  Lightly knead dough to remove bubbles.  Cut the dough into 8 equal portions.  To shape the dough, take a piece of dough and start forming a round, smooth ball by pulling the sides of the dough to the center and pinching to seal.  Place the pinched side down on your palm and using your other hand roll the ball around lightly.  This helps to round the dough out and also make the seal stronger.

Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet seam side down, with at least 1 inch between each roll. Cover with a towel and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place oven rack in middle position.  In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a low boil.  Remove from heat and slowly add the baking soda (it will bubble a lot, hence the big pot) place back on the heat and lower to a simmer.

Place 2 rolls at a time in the water, seam side down.  Boil for 30 seconds per side.  Remove with a slotted spoon to the same parchment lined baking pan.  Repeat with remaining rolls.

Using a pastry brush, brush each roll with beaten egg, making sure to coat all sides completely and then sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.  Use a sharp knife to slash rolls if desired.  Bake rolls 15-20 minutes.