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There are few things better than warm-from-the-oven Pretzel Rolls brushed with butter and sprinkled with coarse salt. These Pretzel Rolls are easy to make and divine when served with even more butter.
This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s® Yeast as part of the Bake It Yourself Blogger Program. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make My Baking Addiction possible.
Eric and I go through phases with going out to eat and honestly, so does Elle.
She’s very much into eating at home right now which I totally get because waiting 30 minutes for a corn dog at a restaurant can seem like an eternity to a 4-year-old. But she’ll happily wait hours for me to roast a chicken, or make homemade spaghetti sauce.
She’s turning into a home body just like her mama, and I kinda love it.
We have a few spots around town that we head to because we know we’ll get a great meal with awesome service.
We have a short list of places for tacos and guac, burgers, pizza and of course, steaks.
My personal favorite is the steakhouse because they serve the most delicious pretzel rolls that are slathered in butter and served with 2 additional sides of butter. I mean, how could that ever be a bad thing.
Add a bowl of their lobster bisque and I’m in heaven. Seriously, I don’t even need the steak.
We’re a soft pretzel loving family, so if they’re on the menu, we’re going to order them almost every time. But this place serves soft pretzel rolls as their bread course and they’re all kinds of amazing.
PRETZEL ROLL RECIPE
When my friends at Fleischmann’s asked me to recreate their Pretzel Bread recipe, I couldn’t help but immediately think of the pretzel rolls at our local steakhouse. It was pretty much a no-brainer to turn this recipe into rolls, brush them with melted butter and top them with a sprinkling of pretzel salt.
Of course, you can always use this Pretzel Roll recipe to make pretzel bread. If you want to go that route, simply shape the dough into two equal loaves and proceed as written from there.
Personally, I’m going to stick with Pretzel Rolls because the serving options are pretty endless.
Serving them warm with cinnamon butter is my personal favorite, but you could also serve them with beer cheese dip, or pepper jelly alongside chili, or even slice them in half and use them as buns for your favorite burger. I think they’d be awesome with my Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork or BBQ Beef.
HOW TO MAKE PRETZEL ROLLS
Making pretzels at home seems really intimidating because of the whole baking-soda-bath situation, but I promise they are actually way easier to make than you think.
This Pretzel Roll recipe starts with a pretty easy yeast dough. We already know and love using Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast since we can add it right to the dry ingredients without dissolving it first, so it’s perfect for keeping things simple here.
After a bit of kneading, let the dough rise for an hour. This is the only time the dough has to rise (thanks again to Fleischmann’s® Yeast RapidRise®), so Pretzel Rolls are something you can make on the fly without a lot of time on your hands.
Once the risen dough is shaped into 8 rolls, we have to give them a dip in a baking soda bath.If you’ve never made pretzels or bagels before, you might be wondering why this step is necessary.
There’s a lot of science and chemistry involved, but the pH level of the baking soda bath changes the way the Pretzel Rolls brown in the oven and the chewiness of the crust. Basically, if you skip this step, you’re just making plain rolls, which may still taste good, but they won’t be Pretzel Rolls!
After their dip, the rolls go onto a greased baking sheet and get a little egg wash before heading into the oven.
Once baked, I like to brush my Pretzel Rolls with melted butter and sprinkle them with pretzel salt or coarse sea salt. And of course, serve them with cinnamon butter, just like our local steakhouse.
However you like to serve them, I know you’ll love Pretzel Rolls as much as we do.
Pretzel Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter OR margarine
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast 1 envelope
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 quarts water
- ¾ cup baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- pretzel salt or kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat milk and butter until warm (120° to 130°F); the butter will not completely melt. Combine with undissolved yeast and brown sugar in a large mixer bowl. Stir in salt and 2 cups flour, beat for 3 minutes. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
- Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
- Combine water and baking soda and bring to a boil.
- Punch dough down and divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a tight, smooth ball.
- Boil each roll in the solution for 2 minutes, turning after 1 minute. Remove rolls from pot using a slotted spoon and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Brush with egg wash and cut a cross in the top.
- Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 10 to 12 minutes until the rolls are evenly browned. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
- Before serving, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with pretzel salt.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
WHAT!! I made these and they looked just like the photo. Better yet they tasted like a pretzel roll. I am so happy with myself and of course with this recipe. Thanks so much!!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the rolls, Joyce! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Have you tried this dough as a pizza crust? If not, can you see a reason not to try it?
Hello! I have not used this as a pizza crust. I don’t think it would have quite the right texture for a pizza crust, but if you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how it turned out. Happy baking!
Jamie
Well I have to admit I have not tried your recipes, but I do not know how you can get this color without using lye. I will give it a go but I have my reservations. I hope I am wrong
Hi Dahlia – The combination of the baking soda bath and the egg wash help give the rolls the characteristic pretzel color and crust but are of course much safer for home use than lye. Hope this helps. Happy baking –
Jamie
I love the shape of your pretzel rolls. They are beautiful and remind me of the Asian dumplings xD
Pinned this for a family-gathering day xD
– Natalie
Thanks so much for stopping by, Natalie! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
These look incredible! Do you think these would freeze well? What about freezing before baking so they can be warm and yummy?
Hello! I haven’t attempted freezing these rolls, so I am not sure of the result. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how they turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Pretzel Rolls are my absolute favorite and this recipe is fantastic!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Nellie! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
These sound utterly perfect! We are massive bread fans in our house, seriously I get through more than anyone would think possible.
And if fresh rolls are in the house, well keeping them for dinner can be a problem.
I can’t wait to give these a go as soft pretzels are our favourite…dipped in the little pots of melted butter. YUM!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Claire! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Adding these to my list to try. I have made pretzels before but never pretzel buns. My family will love these.
YUM! I love pretzel rolls! These look so good!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Natalie! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Oh my days!! YUM!!
Rebecca | http://www.peppermintdolly.com
Thanks so much for stopping by, Rebecca! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie