In my household, we are pretzel addicts. And roll addicts. So naturally, I managed to come up with the best of both worlds. I make soft pretzels all the time, and this is the same dough, just in a roll. Simple and easy and so very tasty. I used to use a recipe that had a long rising time, and was very labor intensive and involved boiling the pretzels before they were cooked and it was really just a pain. Then, in true King Arthur Flour fashion, I discovered that not only did they have an amazing soft pretzel recipe, it was simple too!!! I made a few modifications to their recipe, but for the most part, it is their recipe for Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels .
First modification--Make a double batch. No joke, 8 rolls will not be enough! In the picture above, this was all that was left of a double batch by the time I had a chance to get my camera (which didn't take that long).
This recipe can be made dairy free by omitting the butter at the end or brushing with a dairy free vegetable spread like earth balance.
Hot Buttered Pretzel Rolls
Ingredients:Dough
- 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 7/8 to 1 cup warm water*
- *Use
the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and
somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.
Topping
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- coarse, kosher or pretzel salt**, optional (but really fantastic)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I use smart balance to cut down calories, it doesn't take much)
- **I didn't have pretzel salt and I couldn't really find it, so I bought some coarse sea salt that goes in a grinder (from Winco bulk bins) and pulsed it in a food processor to break it down just a bit, tastes much more like pretzel salt than kosher.
Directions:
Note: I make dough by hand since my Kitchen Aid stand mixer is busted. It may seem intimidating, but really, just knead it until it looks somewhat smooth ball (won't be perfect) and when you poke it quickly it springs back and the indent goes mostly away within 15 seconds or so. It will be pretty sticky but just keep sprinkling it with a light dusting of flour until you have kneaded it to where it needs to be.
1) To make
dough by hand, or with a mixer: Place all of the dough ingredients into a
bowl, and beat until well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or
machine, for about 5 minutes, until it's soft, smooth, and quite slack (add more flour if it is too sticky, add more water a tablespoon at a time if it is too dry, it will be a fairly sticky dough to work with).
Flour the dough and place it in a gallon ziploc bag, and allow it to rest for 30
minutes.
2)
While the dough is resting, prepare the topping: Combine the boiling
water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost
totally) dissolved (be careful, when good baking soda hits hot water it bubbles and expands, so add slowly). Pour mixture into a 9" square pan and set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm (or
cooler).
3)
Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with
vegetable oil spray, or lining it with parchment paper.
4)
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it
into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each) and shape into balls.
5)Working with 4 pretzels at a
time, place them in the pan top side down with the baking soda/water, spooning the
water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before
placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the
pretzels a nice, golden-brown color and their characteristic pretzel flavor.
6)
Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them
lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt, if desired. Allow them to
rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes (important, don't skip!).
7) Score the top of each roll with two parallel cuts using a sharp knife. Bake the pretzels for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they're golden brown.
11)
Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the
melted butter. Eat the rolls warm, or reheat them in an oven or
microwave.
Yield: 8 rolls.
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