Spring is finally here and it means that the grilling season is open.
If you want to treat your family or friends with mini burgers or sliders made on delicious and soft mini pretzel buns, here is the recipe is for you.
Ingredients
Sourdough starter
- 10g sourdough starter
- 60g water
- 55g all purpose flour or bread flour
- 5g rye flour
Dough
- 500g bread flour (100%) +/- 20g flour if needed
- 190g water (38%)
- 100g sourdough starter/levain (30%)
- 50g sugar (10%)
- 1 egg
- 10g salt (2%)
- 35g oil without flavor (7%)
- 0.5 g dry yeast (optional, to reduce sourness)
Garnish
- Sea salt (optional)
- Melted butter for brushing baked pretzel buns (optional)
Boiling
- Wide pot
- 1 gallon of water
- 3 tbs baking soda
Lye bath
• Plastic container
• gloves
• plastic spoon
• 900g water
• 30g lye
Directions
Day 1
Starter
- 10 pm add starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, cover loosely, let it sit at a room temp 74-78F for about 8-10 hours until starter reaches its peak (at least triples in volume).
Dough
- Add all the ingredients, except oil, into a mixing bowl, knead for 5-10 minutes until well incorporated, at the end of mixing add pour oil, continue to mix for a 4-6 more minutes, until gluten is developed.
- Cover and let it rise until the dough becomes lighter and bigger with bubbles on the surface for about 3-4 hours, perform a couple of folds during this time.
Shaping
- Prepare baking tray with parchment paper generously oiled.
- Place the dough onto a non-floured surface. Flatten the dough and divide on a pieces about 50-55 grams each, shape them them as balls, by pinching all the sides into the center.
- Set the pretzel buns on a prepared baking tray. Cover and let them proof for about 2 hours at 76-80F (until they become puffy).
- When proofing is done, move the pretzel buns into the fridge for 30 minutes (it will help to transfer them into boiling water later).
Boiling
- While the dough chills in the fridge boil the water. Add baking soda and whisk well to have it dissolved.
- Preheat your oven to 375F (190C).
- Remove the pretzel buns from the fridge, put 4 of them into the pot with boiling water and wait for them to float on the surface (5 seconds or less). Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side for a thin crust. Using a slotted spoon, remove your pretzel buns from the boiling water, and place them on a well oiled parchment paper, let them cool for about 1 minute.
- Use scoring lame to make an “X” shaped cut on top of each bun.
- Sprinkle some sea salt on top (optional).
Lye bath (if using)
• Wear gloves, add lye to a container with water, deep each pretzel, let soak 10 sec. Transfer to a tray covered with parchment paper.
Baking
- Bake pretzel bunsfor about 25-27 minutes until they turn nice and brown.
- Brush them with melted butter, while still hot for more flavor.
Note: to store, let your pretzel buns cool down, place them into an airtight bag. They will remain fresh for 3-4 days. Or freeze them for up to 1 month.
Enjoy!
Looks amazing
Thank you! It’s very delicious 🙏
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’m baking them tonight. Bread isn’t a staple at my house. How do I revive these if I freeze the buns?
After freezing bring them to a room temperature, and then you can toast them, to make it warm and soft.
hi, love your recipe Natasha, always big success. I like to ask why we make 130 g levain but we only use 90?
thanks a lot!
Nava
hi Natasha, I really love your recipe, always big success 😋 I like to ask why we make 130 g levain but only use 90 g?
thanks a lot!
Awesome thank you – so delicious and easy!
I have been using this as my quick go to all the the COVID-19 lockdowns and trying crazy adaptions here in Melbourne Victoria, Australia
Thank you so much for your feedback!
I’m so happy you liked it 🙏
Hi Natasha! Do you know if Florida laboratories food-grade lye is safe for authentically making this bread? It says 99.9% pure and USP kosher. Thanks!! https://flalab.com/product/sodium-hydroxide-beads-food-grade-nsf-90-various-sizes/
I made these, and when I put them in the baking soda “bath,” they flattened and shriveled quite a bit. I though they might revive in the oven, but still had a shriveled appearance. Any thoughts on where I went wrong. I’m wondering if i overproved in the second proofing. Mine got quite a bit puffier than yours in the photo, but that’s just a guess.
I would like to add, however, that even though they weren’t pretty like yours, they tasted delicious!
Can I put dough in fridge to next day( cold fermentation) ?
can you add whole wheat flour to this?
Howdy. I’m giving these a go today, (because they look absolutely delicious) but was just wondering about a recent reel that you posted where butter was used. Did you use that instead of the oil in this recipe? Thanks