Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Dough:
6 fl. oz. lukewarm water, divided
10 g active dry yeast
4 fl. oz. lukewarm milk
80 g light or dark brown sugar
4 g salt
24 g butter, melted
480 g bread flour, plus more if needed
Boiling liquid:
6 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda
Toppings:
Grated cheddar cheese
Celery seeds
Caraway seeds
Pretzel salt
Dried onion flakes
Sesame seeds
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Directions: |
Directions:In a mixing bowl, mix together 4 fl. oz. of warm water with the yeast and just a tiny pinch of brown sugar; let the yeast bubble up. This should take 6-8 minutes.
Add the remaining water as well as everything else, except the flour, into the yeast bowl; mix with a machine equipped with a dough hook or by hand. Slowly add the flour and mix (medium-high)/knead (vigorously) until you get a smooth, non-sticky dough. Add more flour as needed, one tablespoon at a time. (You want to err on adding too little instead of too much flour.) This should take about 6-8 minutes with a stand mixer and 12-15 minutes if kneading by hand.
Form the dough into a large ball, cover with a towel, and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (or smaller — see post above for options).
To make a hot dog bun, shape a piece of dough into a 5-inch log of approximately 1.5 inches in diameter with tapered ends. Arrange the dough logs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space around each log.
To make a hamburger buns, shape a piece of dough into a ball, 3 inches in diameter, flatten it slightly with your palm. Arrange each dough ball onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches around each ball.
Cover the dough balls or logs with a towel; let them rise for 30 minutes.
Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400° F.
Put the water in a pot and bring it to a gentle boil.
Add the baking soda to the water. You will see lots of bubbles; that’s okay.
Gently lift up each piece of dough, trying your best to keep the integrity of its shape. Slowly plunge each piece of dough into the simmering liquid, “pretty” side first.
Boil one or two pieces of dough at a time, 20 seconds per side. With a large slotted spoon, scoop the dough balls from the boiling liquid, shake off excess water, and gently place them on the same parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between them.
With a sharp knife, or a dough slasher, make a cross on the top of each hamburger bun and 3-4 diagonal cuts on each hot dog bun. Each slash should be about 1/4 inch deep.
Sprinkle the top of the unbaked pretzel buns with your topping(s) of choice.
If you’re baking your pretzel rolls on a cookie sheet, simply transfer the rolls on the cookie sheet to the oven rack, set in the middle of the oven.
If you’re baking your pretzel rolls on a baking stone, sprinkle some cornmeal on the surface of the stone and arrange the rolls onto it, leaving about 3-4 inches between them. Place a pan of hot water on a rack set right underneath the baking stone.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on your baking method, or until the pretzel buns develop dark caramel color on the outsides.
Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool on a cooking rack, loosely covered with a kitchen towel. |
This recipe for Pretzel Hamburger and Hotdog Rolls is from