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I am so happy that I watched this quick video that popped up on my Facebook feed. I usually skip through the videos and do not bother with them. But when the video of this crusty, dark, salt-speckled beautiful Bretzel Rolls came on my screen, I couldn’t resist watching it. After watching the whole video, I vaguely remembered making something similar. I had made Bagels (years back) using the same procedure of baking soda bath. Back then, when I was a newbie in baking, the whole process was very intimidating. I thought it was so much work, that I decided to not try them again at home and just buy.
After trying out something similar this time with the bretzel rolls, I was convinced that practice makes everything easy and we do get better at it. This time around I was at ease the whole time. I am now definitely going to try to make those bagels again and update my old posts with some new pictures.
Coming to this Bretzel Rolls recipe, it is very similar to the German pretzels except for the shape. I still have not made pretzels at home (never felt the need of it, since we eat it quite often at our favorite Auntie Anne’s pretzel store). After seeing these beautiful rolls and tasting them, I realized that I got to make the pretzels at home now. These bretzel rolls have such beautiful color and texture to them that I couldn’t stop with eating just 1. The color and texture can only be attained if we immerse them in the baking soda bath. Traditionally, they used lye solution to the immerse the rolls, but since the procedure is dangerous to try at home, we have now adapted to the baking soda bath method.
Few notes of wisdom, before I get to the recipe for the bretzel roll. The baking soda bath can catch you by surprise if you have never tried one before. Once we add the baking soda to the boiling water, the water just bubbles up vigorously for few seconds. It is very important that you use a tall pot with enough room in the top for the water to boil over. In spite of using a large pot, mine did spill out a bit, but no worries. This gave me a chance to deep clean my stove.
The dough for the rolls itself does not have much salt. So be generous when you sprinkle the salt on top of the rolls. Even better, next time I am going to add enough salt in the dough when baking.
Last but the most important one, do not store the leftover rolls covered or in a box. They become soggy and the salt starts to melt off. Leave the rolls uncovered on the counter top for up to 2 days, but please do not store them covered or wrapped!
Preparation time – 20 minutes plus about 1 hour of inactive time
Baking time – 10 to 15 minutes per batch
Difficulty level – medium
Recipe adapted from – Amanda’s Cookin’
Ingredients to make Bretzel Rolls – Makes 12 rolls
- Warm water – 1 + 1/3 cup
- Warm milk – 2 tbsp
- Butter (melted and cooled) – 2 tbsp
- Active dry yeast – 1 sachet or 2 1/4 tsp
- Brown sugar – 1/3 cup
- All purpose flour – 4 cups
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Coarse salt – to sprinkle on the rolls
For the Water bath –
- Water – in a large pot
- Baking soda – 1/2 cup
Procedure to make the Bretzel Rolls –
To make the dough –
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of the stand mixer, add 1/3 cup of warm water and yeast and mix to combine. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until foamy.
- Add the remaining water, brown sugar, salt, milk and butter to the yeast mixture and mix well. Slowly add the flour, 1 cup at a time and mix the mixture until soft dough forms.
- Switch to the dough hook and start kneading the dough until it forms a smooth dough.
To shape the rolls –
- Weigh the final dough and then divide it into 12 equal pieces.
- Shape the pieces into a smooth roll and then place them in a parchment lined or greased baking sheet. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and then a damp towel and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, using a sharp knife, make a quick score on the rolls in the shape of a cross. Make sure you make a swift and a slightly deep cut with a sharp knife.
- Now cover the rolls again and let it rest for about 30 to 45 minutes or until they have sort of doubled in volume.
Baking Soda Bath –
- In the meantime, heat a large pot with about a gallon of water.
- Once the water boils, add the baking soda to the water. At this time, the water will bubble up vigorously and then settle down.
- Now slowly add 2 rolls at a time into the water bath and let it cook on each side for about 15 seconds.
- Remove the rolls with a slotted spoon and arrange them back in the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Repeat the same with the rest of the rolls.
Baking the rolls –
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Once the rolls come out of the baking soda bath, bake them for 10 to 15 minutes or until the top is dark brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped at the bottom. It took me about 12 minutes.
- I had placed two trays in the oven and I switched the position of both the trays once in between to ensure even browning.
- Once the rolls come out of the oven, cool them on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
- Never store these rolls covered or in a box as they tend to become soggy. Leftover rolls can be stored uncovered in room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Ingredients
- Warm water – 1 + 1/3 cup
- Warm milk – 2 tbsp
- Butter (melted and coole– 2 tbsp
- Active dry yeast – 1 sachet or 2 1/4 tsp
- Brown sugar – 1/3 cup
- All purpose flour – 4 cups
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Coarse salt – to sprinkle on the rolls
For the Water bath –
- Water – in a large pot
- Baking soda – 1/2 cup
Instructions
To make the dough –
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of the stand mixer, add 1/3 cup of warm water and yeast and mix to combine. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until foamy.
- Add the remaining water, brown sugar, salt, milk and butter to the yeast mixture and mix well. Slowly add the flour, 1 cup at a time and mix the mixture until soft dough forms.
- Switch to the dough hook and start kneading the dough until it forms a smooth dough.
To shape the rolls –
- Weigh the final dough and then divide it into 12 equal pieces.
- Shape the pieces into a smooth roll and then place them in a parchment lined or greased baking sheet. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and then a damp towel and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, using a sharp knife, make a quick score on the rolls in the shape of a cross. Make sure you make a swift and a slightly deep cut with a sharp knife.
- Now cover the rolls again and let it rest for about 30 to 45 minutes or until they have sort of doubled in volume.
Baking Soda Bath –
- In the meantime, heat a large pot with about a gallon of water.
- Once the water boils, add the baking soda to the water. At this time, the water will bubble up vigorously and then settle down.
- Now slowly add 2 rolls at a time into the water bath and let it cook on each side for about 15 seconds.
- Remove the rolls with a slotted spoon and arrange them back in the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Repeat the same with the rest of the rolls.
Baking the rolls –
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Once the rolls come out of the baking soda bath, bake them for 10 to 15 minutes or until the top is dark brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped at the bottom. It took me about 12 minutes.
- I had placed two trays in the oven and I switched the position of both the trays once in between to ensure even browning.
- Once the rolls come out of the oven, cool them on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
- Never store these rolls covered or in a box as they tend to become soggy. Leftover rolls can be stored uncovered in room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
If you like this recipe, don’t forget to share it! You can pin the recipe by clicking on the picture below.
Tammy says
I made these and they turned out beautiful! (Minus the sugar) Only problem I had was they actually stuck to the parchment paper. Must be something to do with the baking soda. Next time I will bake them on a stainless rack/cooling rack. It’s a shame to put all that work into something and have to cut the bottoms off!
Karyl | Karyl's Kulinary Krusade says
Oh these look so fabulous! I haven’t made bread in ages, but I love pretzel bread…this inspires me!!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Bread making was very intimidating for me in the beginning, but now I see it as a relaxing technique. Bonus, we get the whole house smelling like heaven!
Sapna says
You should start giving classes. seriously I love each bake of yours this month. Bookmarked many. Kudos to you.
ruchi indu says
I remembered our nursery rhyme – hot cross buns after seeing your pics… Very nice and detailed explanation. Loved the clicks…
Molly Kumar says
These look so cute and I would totally eat most of them with a cup of tea 😉 I love making pretzel at home and these are definitely going in my ‘must -try’ recipes.
Byron Thomas says
I love reading your recipes. You always provide such wonderful instructions and step-by-step pictures. If I have had reservations with making homemade pretzels, you just took care of that. 🙂
Heather says
These are gorgeous!! I am a hardcore pretzel roll girl and they are so hard to find in my area. Your recipe is written beautifully and these seem really easy to make … cant wait to try!
Priya Srinivasan says
Wow, such a beautiful color sandhya! very pretty! Its been a long time i have baked breads, need to initiate the friendship with yeast again!
Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner says
Yummy rolls.. Im getting reminded of hot cross buns 😀
Noel Lizotte says
Good tips on using the baking soda bath … altho I’ll admit, when I read the headline to this post, I said in my head
“B is for Pretzel” .. ? then read it again. Correction! LOL silly me. I am wanting one of these yummies to eat with my blog surfing tea right now!
Christine McMichael says
Love love love German Pretzels! These rolls look so good. I’m thinking about making them for dinner, yum!
valmg @ From Val's Kitchen says
I love bagels, they are one of my favorite forms of bread.Those rolls look absolutely terrific! I wish I could reach through and try one right now.
Adriana Lopez Martn says
Bread is my guilty pleasure and I do love the pretzel buns. We have a local German bakery that sells them but now I will try to make my own using your recipe
Priya Suresh says
These bretzel rolls rocks. And the prefect browned crust looks simply awesome. SUch a beautiful looking Pretzel rolls Sandhya.
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
I love these! I haven’t made them before, but I’ve eaten them and they’re awesome. I’ll have to give your recipe a try!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
We make both the bagels and pretzels at home — so much cheaper and much better. we haven’t tried the bretzel rolls but that is on our to-do list. You did a great tutorial!
Kelly @ Trial and Eater says
I love pretzel rolls, but I’ve never had much luck in making them myself! Your tips sound like they will greatly help me on my next attempt.
Veena Azmanov says
These look so amazing Sandhya. I love your step by step guide. So helpful. I’ve make bread at home all the time but never made these before. On my list – must try!
Pavani says
Those Bretzels look amazing Sandhya. Perfectly baked and thanks for the tips on how to bake these beauties.
[email protected] says
These look amazing. They actually remind me of a big pretzel and since I’ve always been a pretzel fan I bet these are wonderful! I sometimes also get inspired by videos on FB.
Heather Seeley says
I have never made pretzels or bretzels but now I want to try. These look delicious!
Mayuri Patel says
These rolls are simply awesome.
Dene' V. Alexander says
These look oh, so delicious! I love make different types of bread, so I will definitely add these to my list!! Lovely pictures!
Traditionallymodernfood says
You always amaze me with ur baking recipe. Seeing pretzel I expected a different texture this German version is use to me. Looks appetzing
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago says
I love these type of rolls, they are one of my favorites for sandwiches! I definitely need to give making them a try.
Pam Wattenbarger says
These look like they taste amazing. Thanks for the tip on not storing them covered or wrapped up!
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan says
wow those are gorgeous.. love your detailed recipe details and you have tons of patience.
PRADNYA says
i once tried to recreate bagels this way but noticed that you have used a lot of baking soda compared to what my wary mind and wobbly hands did back then..i was not happy to use the actual chemical they put in it…i will definitely try this recipe…and one more thing – the rolls look absolutely stunning
Vaishali Sabnani says
Sandhya, these are gorgeous, I feel like grabbing one instantly, love that coarse salt, and definitely a lot of effort in this recipe..awesome dear.
Sowmya says
Lovely Bretzels! They look so very tempting!! Thanks to your detailed instructions I can safely attempt this without any worries. Bookmarked!
harini says
I agree Sandhya, that the rolls have a beautiful and tempting color. Shall bake these soon as I am in love with this soda bath funda!!
Srivalli Jetti says
Wow what a fantastic roll Sandhya, thanks for the detailed recipe, I can now make it myself!