Pretzel sandwich buns are easy to make and satisfying to eat. They have all the qualities of a typical soft pretzel. Fill them up with your favorite sandwich fixings!
I’ve tried making pretzels several times here on Eva Bakes. In some cases, the pretzels turn out well and in other cases, not as much. When my husband saw these pretzel buns in the latest King Arthur Baking catalog, he begged me to make them.
Admittedly, I was scared at first. I haven’t had great luck baking things that require a baking soda water bath. Thankfully, this recipe was spot-on and I didn’t have any issues.
What I liked about this recipe is that it didn’t take too much time. Many yeast recipes require an initial rise time of 2+ hours and a second rise. Sometimes I don’t want to take all day to make one single thing. These pretzels were definitely an exception.
The dough only needs 1 hour for a rise (I tricked mine by putting it into the oven to warm up after I had already finished baking something – the residual heat helped my yeast activate more quickly). I didn’t shape my buns into anything fancy, and the water bath only took 1 minute per roll. Also, I only needed to bake these for 24 minutes and they were done.
We split these in half and stuffed them with a crab salad. It made for an amazing lunch. The pretzel bun was nice and salty while the crab salad added some sweetness. Now that I know how easy these buns are to make at home, I will definitely be making them again. (PS – these buns tend to harden overnight so they are best eaten the day they are made)
Husband’s rating: 3 out of 5
Addie’s rating: n/a (she couldn’t eat these with her braces)
My rating: 3 out of 5
Pretzel sandwich buns
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 and ¾ cups (397 grams) warm water
- 2 Tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 and ½ cups (539 grams) bread flour
- ¼ cup (28 grams) dry milk powder
- 2 teaspoons instant/quick rise yeast
Water bath
- 2 quarts (1814 grams) water
- 1 Tablespoon (14 grams) salt
- ¼ cup (57 grams) baking soda
Topping
- pretzel salt or coarse sea salt
Instructions
Make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment or in a large bowl if mixing by hand, mix together all of the dough ingredients together on medium speed until it is slightly sticky and smooth.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for about an hour or until doubled.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
- Punch the dough down and divide into 7 equal pieces. Roll each dough into a ball, and place it seam-side down onto your prepared baking sheet. Let the dough rise again while you tackle the next step.
Boil the water mixture
- In a large pot, boil the water, salt and baking soda.
- Drop 2-3 buns into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, turn the buns over and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer the buns back to your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other buns.
Bake the buns
- Using a sharp knife or bread lame, score the top of the buns. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and bake in your preheated oven for 24-27 minutes or until deep golden brown.
- Allow the buns to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Never heard of a “lame”. I learned something today! Pretzel buns look yummy!
Author
I hadn’t either until last year. I was watching videos on making sourdough bread and the bread bakers kept talking about the lame (knife/razor blade). 😀