The Cowans Cook!

Overview: How to Make Soft Pretzel Rolls

Make the dough. See my How to Knead Dough video tutorial if you need extra help with that step.
Let the dough rise for an hour. Or until doubled in size, as pictured above.
Punch down the dough. This helps get rid of any air bubbles.
Divide the dough to form the rolls. Aim for roughly 1/3 cup of dough each, which will yield about 12 rolls. Shape into balls.
Give the rolls a baking soda bath. See below for more details.
Place rolls into prepared baking pan. I like to bake the rolls squished together in a baking pan because they hold their shape much better. You can, however, separate them on a large baking sheet.
Score the tops of each roll & top with butter and coarse sea salt.
Bake until golden brown.

Description

Making easy pretzel rolls from scratch is simpler than you think. Follow this easy and approachable way to make them at home!

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (lukewarm—no need to take temperature but around 100°F (38°C) is great)
2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 56g) unsalted butter, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
3 and 3/4–4 cups (469–500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for work surface
coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Baking Soda Bath

1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
9 cups (2,160ml) water

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Instructions

Whisk yeast and warm water together. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Meanwhile, melt 1 Tablespoon of butter (reserve the rest for step 7). Whisk in salt, brown sugar, and melted butter. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon or dough hook attached to a stand mixer until dough is thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If it is still sticky, add 1/4–1/2 cup more, as needed. Poke the dough with your finger—if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.

Rise: Place in a large greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1 hour or until nearly doubled in size. (Tip: I preheat my oven to 200°F (93°C), turn it off, place the dough inside and shut the oven. This is the warm environment.)
Once risen, punch down dough to release any air bubbles. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and, with a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 1/3-cup (about 75g) sections. You should have about 12 pieces. Shape into balls.
Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat OR line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper (I use a baking pan). Set aside.
Bring baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1–2 pretzel rolls into the boiling water for 20–30 seconds. Any longer than that and your pretzels will have a metallic taste. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel roll out of the water and allow excess water to drip off. Place pretzel rolls onto prepared baking sheet or close together in the baking pan. Using a sharp knife, score a couple slits into the top of each.
Melt the remaining butter. Lightly brush each roll with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Bake for 22–26 minutes or until deep golden brown on all sides.

Remove from the oven and serve warm. Pretzel rolls may be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 days (they lose a little softness over time).