Pretzel Buns

Directions

1. Sprinkle the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar over 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
2. Add milk, shortening, eggs, oil, 3 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Blend with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Mix in remaining 3 cups of flour by hand, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Uncover the dough and punch it down.
4. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Pull off baseball size portions of dough and roll into "snakes" about 6 inches long. Roll each "snake" into a spiral to give the tops some texture. Set each formed bun aside.
6. Mix the baking soda and 4 cups hot water in a bowl. The baking soda does not need to dissolve completely. Dip each bun in the baking soda solution before placing on a baking sheet. Brush each bun with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven until brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack or brown paper bag.

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Reviews (17)

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28

lutzflcat

Sep. 15, 2011

"After reading the reviews, the stickiness of the dough seemed to be an issue, so I reduced the amount of milk to 1-3/4 cups. Kept everything else the same (including 6 cups of A/P flour), and let the..." See more KA do all of the kneading. This yielded absolutely beautiful dough so easy to work with. I'm new to yeast bread baking, and I wasn't sure what dipping the dough into the baking soda-water mixture did, but you definitely get a little bit of that taste, and that's a good thing, so don't skip this step. I formed these into different shapes...coiled, square, round, made a few bread sticks, and topped with Trader Joe's kosher salt. Next time I make these, I'll make more bread sticks because they are delicious dipped into mustard. The baked bun texture is perfect, the dough very pliable (not at all sticky), and the flavor similar to the mall pretzels. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe...this one is going into my favorites folder."

16

sueb

Jul. 13, 2011

"I used whole wheat flour instead of ap flour, oil instead of shortening, and 3 T honey in place of the sugar. They are relatively easy to make, and were loved by my family! I'l be making these again..." See more!"

12

Patricia

Jul. 12, 2011

"The dough is sticky but the flavor was great. I will make this again but rolll it into roung buns instead of the long sticks. My family loved it and ate it right up...." See more"