Sourdough Pretzel Rolls are easy and delicious.

I know my way around a pretzel. I lived in Germany for a couple of years and I had my fair share. What I love about these pretzel rolls is that they are very forgiving if you are new to baking. Soft, a hint of sweetness and saltiness; they’ll make a perfect sandwich roll or dinner roll.

Soft Sourdough Pretzel Rolls

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You had me at sourdough. And Pretzel. Right?!

I was never a huge pretzel fan. I ate them if they were around but I never gravitated to them in the store.

Until, Germany. These twisty, soft, salty delicious treats were everywhere and they were oh so good!  That’s where this recipe gets its inspiration.

At the time of creating this recipe, we are here in the middle of our nationwide lockdown for COVID-19.  I’m teaching an online sourdough class and thought that pretzels and pretzel rolls would be a good thing to make. The recipe is simple, the ingredients are simple and the technique is even simple.

A clear winner on all fronts.

The ingredients are all items you have in your pantry or fridge (except a starter, so grab that here):

  • Whole wheat flour
  • All-purpose flour
  • Sourdough starter
  • Yeast
  • Brown sugar
  • Salt
  • Water
  • Baking soda
  • Dark Beer (I used a German Dunkle) — this is optional, but makes a difference in the finished taste.
  • Vegetable Oil
  • Toppings of your choice, I used coarse kosher salt

There are really only 3 steps to making the pretzel rolls. Dough, Lauge (water bath) and baking. AND the best part is that it doesn’t take a lot of time. About 2 hours from start to finish.

These rolls are perfect for sandwiches, burgers, or as an accompaniment for a meal.🥨 

Try this recipe and let me know what you think.
Hop over to Instagram, share your photo and tag @vineandplate and don’t forget to add the #vineandplate.

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Sourdough Pretzel Rolls

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Sourdough Pretzel Rolls?

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Sourdough Pretzel Rolls


Description

Soft, sweet, salty deliciousness awaits.

You’ll love making these because they are so EASY and the end result is deliciousness x10.


Ingredients

Scale

Dough:

  • 600 grams 4 cups unbleached whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour. You can use a mixture of the two flours as well.
  • 50 grams ¼ cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 355 grams 1 ¼ cup of warm water (about 110°F degrees)
  • ⅓ cup of ripe starter
  • 7 grams 2 ¼ teaspoons or 1 package active dried yeast
  • 10 grams 1 ½ teaspoon salt
  • Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Lauge — water bath before baking:

  • 1 Liter 4 ¼ cups water
  • 3 ½ tablespoons of baking soda
  • ½ cup of pale ale-style beer (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of brown sugar

Toppings:

  • Coarse Salt (Poppy Seeds, Onion, Everything Bagel Topping…whatever makes your tastebuds happy.)

Instructions

Dough

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together warm water, starter, yeast, and brown sugar; let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour and salt using your hands.
  3. Add yeast mixture and, still using your hands or a wooden spoon, combine until a shaggy dough is formed and water is absorbed.
  4. Using the dough hook attachment, mix the dough on medium-low speed until tight, elastic, and smooth. About 4 minutes. It will be slightly sticky. If it is too dry, add a tablespoon of water and mix for another 30 seconds. If too wet, add 1 tablespoon of flour.
  5. Spray a large bowl with vegetable oil, set dough into the bowl, cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap.
  6. Let dough rise at room temperature for about one hour. It will rise a little. You are not looking for a big rise, but if you do get one, don’t worry, it’s okay.
  7. Preheat oven to 350°F, with rack in the middle.
  8. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or cover with parchment paper.
  9. Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled surface.
  10. Gently shape the dough into a ball.
  11. Cut dough into about eight pieces (16 if you are making dinner sized rolls)
  12. Working with one piece at a time, fold the dough once over from all four sides. Pinch the edges and turn over.
  13. Stretch the surface of the roll and slightly pull under and shape into a bun. It’s like you are shaping a mini boule.

Prep the rolls in the Lauge

  1. In a wide pot, combine water, baking soda, beer(optional), and brown sugar.
  2. Bring to a simmer over medium-high.
  3. Simmer rolls upside down, one at a time, about 30 seconds each, holding them under the surface of the water, if necessary, with a wide slotted spoon or spatula.
  4. The rolls will be soft and doughy when they come out of the water.

Bake

  1. Transfer to a prepared baking sheet.
  2. With a sharp knife, slice surface crosswise. (Make and x on the top)
  3. Sprinkle rolls with pretzel salt and/or desired toppings, using one topping or combining different ones.
  4. Transfer to oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes until the crust is golden. Cool rolls on a wire rack for 30 minutes before using for sandwich rolls. Dinner rolls can go straight from the oven to the table (so good!!)
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 26 minute
  • Category: Baking
  • Cuisine: German - American

Keywords: pretzel rolls, pretzels, sourdough

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Hey, I’m Lisa and I’m glad you stopped by. I love food and wine and making things that people love. Speaking of love, that’s my hubby with me in this photo. We were in one of the many tulip fields in Holland in 2018.  Such beautiful colors and these fields stretched for miles and miles. Anyway, thanks for checking out the recipe. I’d love to hear how it goes when you make it so come back to the recipe and leave a comment and rating. Also, don’t forget to share your photo on Instagram and tag #vineandplate so I can brag about you 😉 …. Read More