Pretzel Dinner or Hamburger Rolls
These rolls taste like homemade pretzels. They’re soft inside and perfect for serving as hamburger buns or just as dinner rolls.
Pretzel Dinner or Hamburger Rolls
Makes: 24 rolls
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Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 Tbsp instant yeast
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups milk (warmed to 100-110° F)
- 1 ½ cups water (warmed to 100-110° F)
- 2 tsp salt
- 6 ½ – 8 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Water Bath & Extras:
- 3 quarts water
- 1 Tbsp white sugar
- ½ cup baking soda
- 1 pinch coarse salt (for sprinkling)
Instructions:
Dough:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the yeast, oil, warmed milk, and water.
- Add the salt and 2 cups of the flour. Add more flour gradually until a soft dough that clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Knead for 3-4 mintues. (You may not need the full 8 1/2 cups of flour.)*It is similar in texture to bagel dough and should be slightly more stiff and less sticky than, say, roll dough, but definitely still soft and not overfloured.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap or a towel, and allow it to rise until doubled in size (1-2 hours).
- When risen, portion the dough into 24 pieces and roll each piece of dough into a ball.*for hamburger buns: after you roll it into a ball, flatten it quite a bit so it will be wider rather than taller.*
- Arrange the rolls on lightly greased parchment paper or a lightly floured counter. *Make sure the dough balls won't stick!*
- Let them rest for 15-20 mintues.
Cooking the Rolls:
- While the dough rests, bring about 3 qts of water, the sugar, and the baking soda to a boil in a large 6-qt pot.
- Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, carefully take it off the parchment or counter, flip it over in your hand and pinc the bottom to form a little pucker and help the dough form a nice, taut ball. *Take care not to deflate the dough; you should pinch just the very edge of the dough.
- Place 3-4 dough balls in the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side (the longer you boil, the chewier the baked pretzel roll will be).
- With a slotted spoon, remove the dough from the boiling water and let the excess water drip off into the pan.
- Place the boiled dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Using a very sharp knife or scissors, slice 2-3 cuts into the top of each unbaked roll (about 1/4 inch deep or so). *It's important to use a very sharp blade so that it cuts the dough without deflating it. It's ok if the dough looks wrinkly and kind of funnt. It will work itself out during baking.
- Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with coarse salt then bake for 20 mintues or until the rolls are golden brown on top. Flip the rolls over and bake for 5 more minutes to ensure the bottoms aren't soggy.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooking rack.
Notes:
Make Ahead: These are best served the first day, but you can make them early in the day and serve them fully cooled.
Diet: Egg Free
These are exceptional!
It works to make these as pretzel bites. Boil for about 15 seconds. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes, flipping for the last couple minutes.
Next time, i’d try rolling the dough into a thin tube, letting it rest a bit, then cutting it into little pieces into the water.