Soft, chewy and the best flavor – these Pretzel Rolls are a delicious addition to your dinnertime meal or to use in other fabulous ways.
If you love a good soft pretzel, then you will absolutely fall in love with these Pretzel Rolls.
Slightly chewy on the outside and your fluffy pretzel texture on the inside, these are the perfect texture combination.
We make these Pretzel Rolls for so many different occasions, bread dish, side dish and use them for various things as well.
They are like your favorite pretzel but in Roll form, so no shaping which is a huge plus when it comes to this recipe.
If you are a fan of pretzels and want to eat them in more ways, then you absolutely have to make these Pretzel Rolls.
Some of my other favorite bread recipes that we have on our site include: Garlic Naan, Rosemary Focaccia Bread and Homemade Bagels.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- It is a great bread side to go with any meal.
- The texture is amazing, just like your favorite soft pretzel but in roll form.
- Can be used as buns as well.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Warm water
Dry active yeast or instant yeast
Granulated sugar
Warm milk
Olive oil
Salt
All-purpose flour
Water
Baking soda
Brown sugar
Coarse sea salt or pretzel salt
HOW TO MAKE PRETZEL ROLLS, STEP BY STEP:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the water, yeast, and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Let the mixture stand for 5-15 minutes until you see the yeast bubble up and get foamy.
- Attach the dough hook and add the milk, olive oil, salt and 4 cups of the flour.
- Mix on low speed until all the flour is incorporated.
- Gradually add ½ cup of flour at a time until the dough clears the side of the mixer. It should take about 5-7 minutes. The dough should still be soft but not sticky. It will be slightly stiffer than a normal bread roll dough. Try not to over-flour the dough or the rolls will be too dry.
- Remove the dough to your hand and spray the stand mixer bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough back in mixer bowl and cover and let double in size, about 1-1 ½ hours. If your stand mixer doesn’t have enough room for the dough to double, spray a bowl large enough to let the dough double in with cooking spray, transfer the dough from the stand mixer, cover the bowl, and let it double in size.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.
- Tip dough onto a lightly greased or floured counter and separate into 16 equal pieces.
- Roll each dough piece into a ball. The best way to do this is place a dough piece on your counter, make a “c” with your hand (having your pinkie and thumb on the counter around the ball) and firmly grasp the roll while sliding your hand around in little circles on the counter. Pinch a seam into the bottom to close any gap it has and set on the prepared baking sheet.
- Let rest for 20-25 minutes to puff up slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F when starting to boil the water.
- Place a large pot on the stove and add the water (the exact amount of water doesn’t totally matter, aim for 3 ½-4 ½ quarts), add the baking soda and brown sugar. Bring the water to a boil.
- Gently pick up a dough ball, careful not to deflate the rolls too much and place it in the boiling water.
- Boil each side for 20-50 seconds. The longer you boil the chewier the pretzel will be. I prefer them around 30-40 seconds per side. You can boil 3-4 rolls at a time.
- Pick the rolls up out of the water with a slotted spoon or spatula, letting the water drip off.
- Place the rolls on the greased baking sheets and immediately salt with coarse salt or pretzel salt.
- Continue boiling and salting until all rolls are done. They will be weird and wrinkly but will be pretty again after baking. Make sure to keep the seam side down on the tray.
- Once all the rolls are boiled and salted, use an extra sharp knife, blade, or bread lame, slice an “X” or “+” into the top of each dough ball about ¼ inch deep. Using a sharp blade or knife is important so you don’t deflate the dough more.
- Bake for 19-23 minutes until the dough is deep golden brown.
- Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
HOW WARM SHOULD MY WATER AND MILK BE?
You want them to be roughly around 110 degrees F. Too hot of water and it will kill the yeast and too cold and it will not activate the yeast.
So I recommend taking a thermometer like a candy or meat and stick it in your milk and water to make sure it is the proper temperature.
WHAT AMOUNT OF FLOUR SHOULD I USE?
We give a range of the amount of flour for a few reasons. The amount of flour really will vary depending on your kitchen temperature, humidity level, weather outside, and how you measure flour.
Follow the directions for what the dough should feel like and add more flour until you get to the right consistency.
WHY DO I NEED TO SCORE THE TOP OF MY PRETZEL ROLLS?
This is a step that you don’t want to skip. Scoring the tops of the rolls with an X lets the dough expand while baking and cook more evenly.
WHY DO I NEED TO GIVE THESE A WATER BATH?
This is one of the most important steps when you are making pretzels or other bread that require a water bath.
The water bath includes baking soda which gives them their pretzel taste and also helps them get a nice golden color when baked.
HOW TO STORE:
Pretzel Rolls are best eaten the day they are made. They don’t do well in totally airtight containers or they get soggy so store them in a paper bag at room temperature where they will keep for up to 3-4 days.
They can also be frozen, place in a freezer bag or container and they will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the counter until thawed and then you can place in the microwave for about 20 seconds until heated through.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- In order to get the salt to stick to the dough, you must sprinkle with salt immediately after removing from the boiling water. Waiting even 15 seconds could result in salt that falls off.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- If you don’t let the water drip off enough after boiling, the pretzel rolls will be soggy after baking.
- To make each roll perfectly the same size, use a kitchen scale to weigh each dough ball.
- If you use instant yeast you do not have to let it get bubbly before continuing on with the recipe. If you use dry active yeast you need to let the yeast activate for 5-15 minutes in the warm water and sugar before continuing on with the recipe. Both versions of yeast are fine to use in this recipe.
- The flour amount can vary, see above on why that is.
- Make sure you do not forget to score the tops of the rolls so they are able to expand and bake properly.
Love a good pretzel? Then you absolutely will not regret making these Pretzel Rolls, so so good!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these PRETZEL ROLLS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Pretzel Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 ¾ cup warm water
- 1 Tablespoon dry active yeast or instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ cups warm milk
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 6 ¾ – 8 cups all-purpose flour
Water bath:
- 3 ½ – 4 ½ quarts of water
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- Coarse sea salt or pretzel salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the water, yeast, and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Let the mixture stand for 5-15 minutes until you see the yeast bubble up and get foamy.
- Attach the dough hook and add the milk, olive oil, salt and 4 cups of the flour.
- Mix on low speed until all the flour is incorporated.
- Gradually add ½ cup of flour at a time until the dough clears the side of the mixer. It should take about 5-7 minutes. The dough should still be soft but not sticky. It will be slightly stiffer than a normal bread roll dough. Try not to over-flour the dough or the rolls will be too dry.
- Remove the dough to your hand and spray the stand mixer bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough back in mixer bowl and cover and let double in size, about 1-1 ½ hours. If your stand mixer doesn’t have enough room for the dough to double, spray a bowl large enough to let the dough double in with cooking spray, transfer the dough from the stand mixer, cover the bowl, and let it double in size.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.
- Tip dough onto a lightly greased or floured counter and separate into 16 equal pieces.
- Roll each dough piece into a ball. The best way to do this is place a dough piece on your counter, make a “c” with your hand (having your pinkie and thumb on the counter around the ball) and firmly grasp the roll while sliding your hand around in little circles on the counter. Pinch a seam into the bottom to close any gap it has and set on the prepared baking sheet.
- Let rest for 20-25 minutes to puff up slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F when starting to boil the water.
- Place a large pot on the stove and add the water (the exact amount of water doesn’t totally matter, aim for 3 ½-4 ½ quarts), add the baking soda and brown sugar. Bring the water to a boil.
- Gently pick up a dough ball, careful not to deflate the rolls too much and place it in the boiling water.
- Boil each side for 20-50 seconds. The longer you boil the chewier the pretzel will be. I prefer them around 30-40 seconds per side. You can boil 3-4 rolls at a time.
- Pick the rolls up out of the water with a slotted spoon or spatula, letting the water drip off.
- Place the rolls on the greased baking sheets and immediately salt with coarse salt or pretzel salt.
- Continue boiling and salting until all rolls are done. They will be weird and wrinkly but will be pretty again after baking. Make sure to keep the seam side down on the tray.
- Once all the rolls are boiled and salted, use an extra sharp knife, blade, or bread lame, slice an “X” or “+” into the top of each dough ball about ¼ inch deep. Using a sharp blade or knife is important so you don’t deflate the dough more.
- Bake for 19-23 minutes until the dough is deep golden brown.
- Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- In order to get the salt to stick to the dough, you must sprinkle with salt immediately after removing from the boiling water. Waiting even 15 seconds could result in salt that falls off.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- If you don’t let the water drip off enough after boiling, the pretzel rolls will be soggy after baking.
- To make each roll perfectly the same size, use a kitchen scale to weigh each dough ball.
- If you use instant yeast you do not have to let it get bubbly before continuing on with the recipe. If you use dry active yeast you need to let the yeast activate for 5-15 minutes in the warm water and sugar before continuing on with the recipe. Both versions of yeast are fine to use in this recipe.
- The flour amount can vary, see above on why that is.
- Make sure you do not forget to score the tops of the rolls so they are able to expand and bake properly.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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