I really love soft pretzels and soft pretzel rolls, and I was looking for sort of a cross between a pretzel roll and a regular sandwich roll to use for an upcoming dinner and I settled on this recipe.
This is a pretty standard roll type recipes, but the rolls are brushed with water with some baking soda/sugar dissolved in it and topped with salt to give a slight pretzel feel to them. I made 24 rolls because I wanted some for my freezer.
These rolls are a good combo of slightly crisp on the outside, chewy and soft on the inside. You can brush the baked rolls with melted butter if you want extra luxurious rolls. These follow standard bread baking procedures. You can see my post here for some bread baking basics if you are new to bread. Freshly baked bread is nothing like store bread, and if you try it, it is addicting.
Soft Pretzel Style Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 cup milk warmed gently so it isn't cold, just don't make it too hot or you will kill the yeast
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cups AP flour give or take a little
For the glaze:
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Combine the water, baking soda and sugar. Microwave for a minute or two until the sugar dissolves and stir well. Set aside.
- Combine the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium low until the dough comes together into a cohesive ball. The dough should be soft and supple but come together after mixing for a few minutes. If it is too dry, add water a tbsp at a time until it is soft. If it is too wet, add flour a tbsp at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- Knead the dough until it passes the window pane test and is smooth. Place in a greased bowl or dough bucket and let it rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces on a lightly floured counter and roll each into a ball (watch a video on youtube on making rolls to see how to correctly roll the dough balls). Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with greased plastic wrap. Heat the oven to 450 and allow the rolls to rise another 30-40 minutes.
- Brush with the water mixture and top with salt. Slash the rolls two times if you like. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until fully baked and browned on top. I use an instant read thermometer to check my dough temp so as not to overbake. They are done when the internal temp is above 200 degrees.
- If you'd like these to be more dense/pretzel consistency, you can place the dough balls in lightly boiling water for a minute first before baking as you do with actual pretzels and bagels.
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