Homemade Pretzel Rolls

Name: Homemade Pretzel Rolls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups warm water; 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast; 2 teaspoons sugar; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 10 cups water; 1/3 cup baking soda; 1 egg, beaten; Optional: kosher salt for sprinkling

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | February 17, 2015 79 Comments

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Last updated on March 12th, 2021

Homemade Pretzel Rolls | Updated in 2021 with video. I love pretzel rolls. I love the bronzed, sexy outsides, and the deliciously-chewy interiors. You can’t beat ’em for hamburger buns. And get this — the rolls are really easy to make!

Pretzel Rolls: The Video Recipe

Click the “play” arrow above to watch the (highly detailed!) video how-to. Then scroll down for a few notes, plus the photographic and printable recipes.

Note #1: As illustrated in the video above, pretzel dough can be made entirely by hand. If you prefer to use a stand mixer, just scroll down for the photographic step-by-step.

Note #2: A short soak in a mixture of boiling water and baking soda gives the rolls their unique color and texture. A soup pot or any wide and fairly-deep pan will suffice as a pretzel roll “bath tub.”

Note #3: You haven’t lived until you’ve tried a grass-fed beef burger in a pretzel roll. (And because I love you, I’m going to make such a burger at the end of this recipe!)

The Photographic Step-By-Step:

To start, whisk together some warm water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer.

Add flour and salt…

And 4 tablespoons melted butter.

Everything’s better with butter.

Mix at low speed until combined — about 30 seconds.

Then let ‘er rip at medium speed (#4 on my KitchenAid mixer) until the dough comes together and cleans the bowl (as pictured) — 3 to 5 minutes.

Scrape the dough off the hook-attachment, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (you needn’t grease the bowl), and place it a warm location until the dough doubles in volume — about 90 minutes. As you can see, my “warm location” is a common heating pad. I use the heating pad because I live in a very charming but drafty 19th century house.

No picture of this next step: Line a large baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone mat.

While wearing a purple sweatshirt and a weird, woven bracelet, punch down the dough to deflate it.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface (I no longer flour my work surface — see video). Form the dough into a rough rectangle.

Then grab a knife or a pastry-scraper…

And cut the dough into 8 equal segments.

Form the segments into rolls…

And pinch the underside to seal the seams.

Lightly flatten the balls so they resemble hamburger buns, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until nearly double — about 30 minutes.

While the rolls are rising, bring 10 cups of water to a boil in a big pan or soup pot. Then reduce the heat so the water barely bubbles.

Also, center the oven rack, and preheat the oven to 425°F.

Bit by bit, add 1/3 cup baking soda to the water. The water will foam furiously when the soda hits it. That’s why it’s important to add the compound in small increments.

Put 2 or 3 rolls at a time into the bath, and let them soak for 30 seconds. Then flip ’em over, and soak the other side for 30 seconds.

Transfer the poached rolls to the baking sheet (I like to you a freshly-lined baking sheet here), and brush the tops with beaten egg.

Then, to give the rolls a glamorous appearance, make a couple of 1/4-inch-deep slashes across the tops.

If you wish, you can sprinkle the tops with a little kosher salt. (The rolls will be divine even without the extra salt.)

Bake in the preheated oven until perfectly puffed and bronzed — 15-20 minutes. If you are not going to eat the rolls right away, let them cool on a wire rack. You can store them at room temperature in a paper sack (don’t seal them in plastic) for up to 24 hours. Or you can freeze them.

Are you still with me? Good. I’d like to offer you a hamburger!

Split a pretzel roll in half…

And spread it with a good, grainy mustard. A pretzel without mustard is like a kiss without a squeeze. Or something like that.

Place a round of fried red onion on the top half of the bun.

Then slide a hamburger patty (preferably topped with cheddar cheese) on the bottom half of the roll.

Want some bacon? Your wish is my command.

Want pickles? Good for you.

We might as well add some baby kale leaves, too. Kale will make our hamburger seem almost healthy.

Dig in, baby!

Think you’ll give these easy pretzel rolls a try? You can let me know by leaving a comment. As always, I love hearing from you.

Here’s the printable, which I’ve simplified from the above photographic step-by-step:

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