Pretzel Buns

Pretzel breads are everywhere these days, it seems.  And, believe it or not, these crispy, salty, delicious rolls are very simple to make!

If you can make rolls, you can make pretzel rolls.  And, if you've never tried, I suggest you start now!  No time like the present ; )

We'll start with the recipe.  This is my tried and true bread recipe, makes awesome regular rolls as well, just a simple, standard yeast bread recipe, really easy to work with.

Proof your yeast with the warm water and sugar for about 5 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well, turn out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth, but still a little sticky.

I let this rest for about 15 minutes, then divide into 10-12 rolls, depending on how big you want them.  

Bring your 10 cups of water just to a boil, then take off heat and stir in baking soda.  Drop the rolls in the baking soda water one at a time, for about 10 seconds each, turning to submerge both sides.  I use a slotted spatula to take them out of the water, let drip, then place on your baking sheet.

Brush each roll with the egg wash, sprinkle with sea salt.

Then, let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Bake at 450 degrees, mine usually take about 10 minutes.  And, presto!

Better than a restaurant!

This also works great for pretzel dogs, instead of separating your dough into rolls, roll it out and cut into strips with a pizza cutter.  Then wrap around hot dogs mummy-style and follow the rest of the steps, except these don't really need to rise.  My boys adore these!

Happy baking my friends, and here's to

              MAKING IT COUNT