Pretzel rolls

All the flavour and aroma of soft pretzels, but in delicious bread rolls :). Instead of shaping the dough into pretzels, simply form it into rolls. It’s quicker and easier. These pretzel rolls have the same crisp, lightly salted crust and wonderfully soft interior. Perfect for a weekend breakfast, especially if you’re a fan of pretzels and crunchy breadsticks :).

Ingredients for 12 rolls.

Ingredients for the dough:

• 550–580 g strong white bread flour
• 7 g dried yeast or 14 g fresh yeast
• 30 g butter, melted
• 1½ cups lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Ingredients for boiling:

• 2 litres water
• 5 tbsp baking soda

Also:

• 20 g butter, melted
• For sprinkling:
• sea salt or poppy seeds

Mix the flour with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, first prepare a yeast starter). Add the remaining ingredients and knead, adding the melted butter towards the end. Knead for long enough to obtain a soft and elastic dough. Place in a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1½ hours).

Bring the water and baking soda to the boil in a large saucepan. Remove the risen dough from the bowl, knead briefly and divide into 12 equal pieces, about 75 g each. Shape each piece into a roll.

As soon as all the rolls have been shaped, do not leave them to rise. Instead, start boiling them, beginning with the roll that was shaped first. Gently place the rolls, one at a time, into the boiling water and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving space between them.

Make a few cuts in the tops of the rolls with a sharp knife and brush with the extra melted butter. Sprinkle with sea salt. Do not leave the rolls to rise; place them immediately in the preheated oven.

Bake the pretzel rolls at 220°C for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: Sally’s Baking Addiction.