Sunday, January 1, 2012

Pretzel Buns



Have you discovered Pinterest? Oh boy---is it addicting or what? I keep pinning pictures of great looking food to my boards. Besides my own stuff, though, I hadn't made any of the things that I fully intended to. Until today. Today, I made the Pretzel Rolls.




I've been eyeing these little devils for weeks, all the while buying pretzel buns at Trader Joe's. Want to see how I made them? Here you go:

Pretzel Rolls (adapted from [Une Bonne Vie])

1 3/4 cups milk, warmed to 110 degrees F. (bathwater warm)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3-3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
Coarse salt for sprinkling

Water Bath
7-8 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoons baking soda

Place the warmed milk in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the olive oil and the yeast. Let this mixture stand for about 5 minutes or until it starts to foam (this way you know the yeast is working). Add three cups of the flour and the salt.

Attach the dough hook and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour, if needed. The dough should nearly clean the sides of the bowl, but still be a little tacky. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, by hand, for about a minute until the dough is smooth and elastic.



When measuring the flour, lightly spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. If you have to add flour, add it a tablespoon at a time.

Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and turn it over so that both sides are oiled. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rise in a draft-free area until it's doubled, about 45 minutes.




Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.; Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.



Punch the dough down and plop it on a floured surface ( I prefer my Silpat), then divide it into 8 pieces. Form each piece of dough into a ball, slightly flattened. Place the dough balls on the lined baking pan, cover and allow to rise for an additional 20 minutes.



While the buns are rising, prepare the water bath. In a large pot, combine the water, salt, and baking soda; bring to a rolling boil. Gently drop the dough buns into the boiling water, two at a time, and let them "poach" for about 30 seconds on each side. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them back on the lined baking pan. Using a serrated knife, cut 2-3 lines across each bun and sprinkle with course salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the buns are a deep brown. Transfer to a rack to cool.


I found the dough balls to be a little sticky when I was putting them into the boiling water, so I dipped my fingers in a little flour first. The water does foam up, so make sure your pot is large enough. A crinkly appearance is normal--this disappears during baking.


As you can see, I was a little stingy with the salt--I usually scrape salt off of my pretzels, but I found that I did like a little on these.


If you aren't going to use all of these right away, go ahead and pop some in the freezer. They thaw quickly and stay fresh much longer if frozen.


I may never buy another hamburger bun again.


23 comments:

  1. These look amazing! I buy my pretzel rolls at Whole Foods. I have been meaning to try them out myself as well. I had to laugh about the salt. I scrape it all off too much to my husband's dismay.

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  2. I have been wanting to make pretzel rolls ever since I read a book (2 years ago) about a restaurant that served them. Obviously I have been slow getting to that to do list. These look fabulous. I kept thinking they'd be great by themselves, but using them as buns for a burger sounds phenomenal!

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  3. Pretzel buns are the bomb, and yours look beautifully done!

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  4. Mouth watering! You should open a bakery.

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  5. Hamburgers muct be great on these! I will have to try them.

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  6. i will have to try the roll form. i made pretzels for xmas eve dinner. i used CI's baking book recipe.
    http://ohmydoodle.blogspot.com/2011/12/pretzel-graffiti.html

    this was the second time i made them, i boiled to long....distracted by xmas chaos. i also used fast acting yeast instead of the slow. they tasted fine but surface texture was airy.

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  7. how fun!! and they look beautiful! :) I need to try these babies out!

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  8. Thanks, everyone! They turned out to be easier to make than I thought. Laura--your post was one of the ones that motivated me to make these! I use the same yeast that you do--plus, the recipe that I (very loosely)followed, said to poach them for one minute on each side. I think she meant one minute total.

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  9. Gosh, these are gorgeous, Cathy! You really do have baker's blood in your veins....yummy!

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  10. Those are some beautiful buns! I was just looking at Pretzel buns in the freezer section a couple days ago and wondering if I should try them... Then lo and behold, you post this... Perfect timing! This is going on my "Gotta Try" list!

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  11. They look so nice and soft. I love pretzel buns!

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  12. This recipe is awesome! I have had pretzel buns at restaurants and loooved them. Never thought to try myself. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  13. These look so tasty and delicious! I love how you made a little burger out of it, I bet it tasted amazing; there's nothing better than fresh homemade bread! Beautifully done :)

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  14. These look yummy! I'm going to have to try out your recipe soon. Just discovered your blog and LOVE it! Thanks for sharing your foodie passion with a fellow foodie.

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  15. i tried them and they look fine, not like yours...how did u get them to be so perky and big like the ones in the picture? mine came out well but they didnt rise so much like your while baking and mine were golden brown ish....not a nice brown like yours. i need to try again. any tips?

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    1. I wonder if you tried a different yeast--maybe that's why they didn't rise as much? As for the browning, I think that is a result of the water/soda bath, so be sure to get the measurements for that right. There are so many variables that can affect baked goods--humidity, oven temperature, etc. If you liked them, give them another try..it might have just been an off day. :) The one thing I plan to do soon, is invest in a scale, so that I can weigh the flour instead of measuring. I hear the difference is huge.

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    2. Could also be a result of a high hydration dough. I found that the dough was a little wet even at 4 cups of flour. If your dough is really wet you wont get the lift that you would get with a lower hydration. A lot depends on the flour you use, the weather, how you measure etc.. Also if you want these to be darker add more baking powder.

      Love this blog BTW!! Keep up the amazing work!!

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  16. Tried thes for the first time a few weeks ago and fell in love. Next two batches failed miserably...learned a few secrets...now they appear regularly on our restaurant's menu......sets us apart from everyone else by making ALL our bread products from scratch!

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  17. These look great Cathy!! Been wanting to give them a try! Going to try to add some whole wheat flour. Hope they turn out as pretty as yours!! ( :

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  18. Hi an old friend brought me some of these about 20 years ago (never forgot about them) -- but with a ham n white cheese filling -- they were the best.............he gave me the recipe -- but I lost it in packing . do you know how to make these?

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    Replies
    1. Wow, that sounds really good! I'll have to research that idea. :)

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