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Mini Pretzel Buns

2626kcal
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Prep 30 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Rise & Rest Time 15 hours 30 minutes
Total 16 hours 25 minutes
Perfect for slider season, these Mini Pretzel Buns are beautifully deep-brown, shiny, and soft on the inside. Combining a multipurpose sourdough starter with a touch of commercial yeast guarantees a reliable, fluffy rise while keeping any sharp sour notes perfectly in check.
Cuisine American, German Bakery Style

Ingredients

The Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)
  • 10 g Sourdough starter culture
  • 60 g Water
  • 55 g All-purpose or bread flour
  • 5 g Rye flour
The Enriched Pretzel Main Dough
  • 500 g Bread flour (100% - Adjust up or down by 20g based on flour absorption properties)
  • 190 g Water (38%)
  • 100 g Active sourdough starter levain (20% - From the stage above)
  • 50 g Sugar (10%)
  • 1 Large egg
  • 10 g Salt (2%)
  • 35 g Flavorless neutral baking oil (7%)
  • 0.5 g Dry instant yeast (Optional helper pinch used strictly to eliminate natural sour tang)
The Traditional Alkaline Boiling Bath
  • 1 Gallon Water
  • 3 tbsp Baking soda (Or check the notes below for an authentic food-grade lye bath setup)
The Finishing Bakery Garnish
  • Coarse sea salt (To taste)
  • Melted butter (Reserved strictly for a hot post-bake brush coating)

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer (Fitted with a dough hook attachment)
  • Large Baking Sheet
  • Parchment Paper (Generously oiled)
  • Wide Cooking Pot
  • Slotted Spoon (For lifting the boiled buns safely)
  • Scoring Lame or a brand-new razor blade
  • Kitchen Scale

Method

Day 1 – Starter Peak Build
  1. 10:00 PM: In a clean glass jar, add your 10g of starter culture to 60g of water and whisk together. Add the 55g of white flour and 5g of rye flour.
  2. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely, and let it ferment at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 8 to 10 hours until it triples in volume and peaks.
Day 2 – The Enriched Knead, Bulk Rise, and Shaping
  1. In your stand mixer bowl, combine the 190g of water, 100g of your active peak starter, 50g of sugar, 1 large egg, 10g of salt, the optional 0.5g of dry yeast, and all 500g of bread flour.
  2. Attach your dough hook attachment. Knead on low-medium speed for 5 to 10 minutes until the ingredients come together into a firm dough ball.
  3. Pour in the 35g of flavorless baking oil. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue mixing for an additional 4 to 6 minutes until the oil is completely absorbed and the gluten network is fully developed.
  4. Cover the bowl and let bulk ferment for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature. Perform 2 separate rounds of structural stretch-and-folds across the first two hours until the dough looks notably lighter and develops tiny bubbles on the surface.
  5. Shaping: Line a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper and oil it generously.
  6. Tip the dough out onto a completely un-floured work surface. Flatten it down slightly and use a bench scraper to divide the mass into small, uniform pieces weighing roughly 50 to 55 grams each.
  7. Shape each piece into a tight, neat ball by pinching all the outer sides into the bottom center, then rolling it under your cupped palm to smooth out the skin.
  8. Arrange the mini buns across your oiled tray. Cover loosely and let them proof for roughly 2 hours at 76–80°F (24–27°C) until they expand and turn beautifully puffy.
  9. The Firming Chill: Once proofed, transfer the entire tray uncovered straight into your refrigerator for exactly 30 minutes. Chilling the dough solidifies the structure, making them incredibly easy to handle without wrinkling during the upcoming boiling bath.
The Alkaline Bath & Blazing Bake
  1. While the dough chills, bring 1 gallon of water to a rolling boil inside a wide pot. Add the 3 tablespoons of baking soda and whisk well until it fully dissolves. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
  2. Remove the chilled buns from the fridge. Working in batches of 4, drop them carefully into the boiling water bath.
  3. Wait for them to float to the surface (usually 5 seconds or less), and boil for exactly 20 to 30 seconds per side to create a wonderfully thin pretzel skin.
  4. Use a slotted spoon to lift the boiled buns out of the water, drain off any excess liquid, and return them onto your oiled parchment paper. Let them cool and settle for 1 minute.
  5. Use a sharp scoring lame or clean razor blade to slice a deep "X" pattern cleanly into the top center of each bun. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired.
  6. Slide the tray into the oven and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 25 to 27 minutes until the outer crust turns a deep, gorgeous pretzel brown color.
  7. Pull them out and immediately brush the tops generously with melted butter while they are still steaming hot for maximum flavor and shine!

Nutrition

Calories2626kcalCarbohydrates459gProtein79gFat49gSaturated Fat5gPolyunsaturated Fat15gMonounsaturated Fat25gTrans Fat0.2gCholesterol179mgSodium10829mgPotassium786mgFiber14gSugar52gVitamin A263IUVitamin C0.3mgCalcium247mgIron6mg

Notes

  • Why the 30-Minute Fridge Chill is a Lifesaver: Attempting to drop warm, freshly proofed dough balls straight into a boiling water pot will instantly deflate your air bubbles, leaving you with wrinkly and misshapen buns. Sliding the tray into the fridge for 30 minutes chills the starches and sets the shape, allowing you to handle and move them into the water cleanly without losing any volume.
  • The Yeast Pinch for a Soft Sandwich Crumb: Traditional German pretzels feature a distinctly dense, chewy bite. Because these are specifically scaled to be used as soft burger sliders or party sandwiches, adding a tiny 0.5g pinch of instant yeast alongside your levain ensures the crumb stays incredibly soft and light while cutting down on any intense sourdough sourness.
  • Why the Parchment Paper Must Be Oiled: Alkaline baths make the exterior starch layer of boiled dough remarkably sticky. If you land your wet buns directly onto dry parchment paper right after boiling, they will glue themselves to the paper permanently as they bake through. Rubbing a light coating of oil across the paper ensures they slide right off cleanly once baked.
  • The Authentic Food-Grade Lye Bath Option: If you want to achieve that shiny, mahogany crust found in professional German bakeries, you can swap out the hot baking soda water for a traditional cold lye bath. In a dedicated plastic container, wear protective gloves and dissolve 30g of food-grade lye beads into 900g of cold water. Dip each chilled bun into the lye bath for exactly 10 seconds, then transfer them straight to your oiled baking sheet to score and bake immediately.

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