This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
With a soft, tender inside and outside that has that cooked-to-perfection, pretzel texture we all love, these Pretzel Rolls are an instant favorite! Upgrade dinnertime with this irresistible side!
Homemade Pretzel Rolls Ingredients
Because of their basic ingredients, Pretzel rolls are a delicious treat you can make any time! Individual measurements can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Dry Active Yeast: Gives pretzel rolls their perfect rise and roundness.
- Warm Water: This will be mixed with the yeast.
- Brown Sugar: For sweetness and to help yeast grow.
- Butter: It is best salted and melted ahead of time. For use in dough and for brushing on top.
- Egg: For use as a binding agent in the bread.
- Salt: To enhance flavor with just a pinch.
- Flour: All-purpose flour works great in this recipe. No need to worry about bread flour.
- Water: There is a lot of water but it is going into a big pot for a baking soda bath.
- Baking Soda: When you boil your rolls in baking soda, it gives them their dark coloring and pretzel texture.
- Coarse Salt: To top rolls with.
Making Pretzel Rolls from Scratch
Pretzel rolls are so easy to make at home! With how tasty, buttery, and golden these are, you won’t want to leave the house to get a pretzel again!
- Prepare Yeast: In a mixing bowl mix together yeast, water, and sugar. Let sit for 5-7 minutes, until it begins to get frothy.
- Whisk In: Egg and butter.
- Mix In Dry Ingredients: Add flour and salt and mix with a dough hook on medium-low speed for 6-7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Let Dough Rise: Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough into it. Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the bowl with the sprayed side facing the dough. Let rise until doubled in size, about 40-60 minutes.
- Preheat: Preheat oven to 425.
- Shape: When dough has doubled in size, cut into 12 equal portions. Form your dough into balls, keeping the seam at the bottom of the rolls.
- Prepare Soda Bath: Let rest for 35-40 minutes. After the dough has rested place a large pot or dutch oven on the stove and bring the water and baking soda to a boil.
- Boil Rolls: After the dough is done resting, boil the dough balls in batches of 3-4 at a time, boiling for 1 minute on each side. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush With Butter and Add Salt: Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt. Use a very sharp knife or razor blade to score the tops of the buns.
- Bake: Bake for 10 minutes then rotate the pan and bake for 6-8 more minutes, until browned. Allow to cool before serving finished pretzel rolls.
Tips For Making the Ultimate Pretzel Rolls
These great tips can help you make pretzel rolls that rival anything you can get from a bakery or the grocery store. Customize and perfect your pretzel rolls!
- Knead Long Enough: Be sure to knead long enough. This helps your dough relax and give you a tender, soft, and chewy result.
- Don’t Skip the Soda Bath: The baking soda bath is what will make your pretzel rolls actually taste like pretzels. The Maillard reaction, where amino acids and sugars react, creates the golden-brown color and chewy texture, giving them a distinct flavor. When you finish boiling them, you’ll notice they become slightly wrinkled. This just means that the reaction took place and they are ready for baking!
- Score Your Rolls: When you cut the tops of your rolls, you are allowing them to expand and cook thoroughly.
- Adding Different Flavors: You can easily change the flavor of your Pretzel Rolls by adding fresh grated cheese, cinnamon sugar, or toppings like everything bagel seasoning at the time of brushing butter on the tops of them.
- Dips and Spreads: Pretzel Rolls taste great when broken and dipped in homemade cheese sauce. You can also cut these bad boys open and add some honey butter for a truly sweet and decadent treat. I could honestly probably live off of soft rolls with honey butter.
- Other Uses: I love to use Pretzel Rolls as buns for little pub-style sliders. You can make anything from pulled pork, to cheeseburgers, to buffalo chicken sliders, and the pretzel texture adds a little extra tastiness.
How to Store Leftovers
Pretzel rolls are perfect for warming up in the oven for a warm, delicious treat! These are always a go-to for me.
- At Room Temperature: Either cover baked Pretzel Rolls with plastic wrap or keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- In the Refrigerator: Dough that has risen and been kneaded can be kept for 2 days in the fridge. Simply shape into balls and let rise again before baking them.
- In the Freezer: Both unbaked dough and cooked rolls can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. For unbaked dough, thaw overnight and then let rise at room temperature before baking. To reheat cooked rolls, put them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Pretzel Rolls
With a soft, tender inside and outside that has that cooked-to-perfection, pretzel texture we all love, these Pretzel Rolls are an instant favorite! Upgrade dinnertime with this irresistible side!
Ingredients
- 1 packet dry active yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 10 cups water
- ½ cup baking soda
- Salted Butter for brushing on top melted
- Coarse Salt
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl mix together yeast, water, and sugar. Let sit for 5-7 minutes, until it begins to get frothy.
- Whisk in egg and butter.
- Add flour and salt and mix with a dough hook on medium-low speed for 6-7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough into it. Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the bowl with the sprayed side facing the dough. Let rise until doubled in size, about 40-60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425.
- When dough has doubled in size, cut into 12 equal portions. Form your dough into balls, keeping the seam at the bottom of the rolls.
- Let rest for 35-40 minutes. After the dough has rested, place a large pot or dutch oven on the stove and bring the water and baking soda to a boil. After the dough is done resting boil the dough balls in batches of 3-4 at a time, boiling for 1 minute on each side. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt. Use a very sharp knife or razor blade to score the tops of the buns.
- Bake for 10 minutes then rotate the pan and bake for 6-8 more minutes, until browned. Allow to cool before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 1625mgPotassium: 56mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 180IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
There’s something inherently wrong with this recipe. I followed the instructions to the letter but when the rolls came out of the oven, they were uncooked inside. I put foil over the top and put them back in for a total of 15 additional minutes. Even after that the very center of the rolls was still a little mushy. I know my oven is at the correct temperature because I have two separate thermometers inside it so I can feel assured the temperature is correct. At my age I have baked 8 or 9 different types of breads and other baked items 50+ times by now so it’s not like this is the first time I’ve made something with dough. Also, there is a key piece missing in the recipe. It is supposed to make 12 rolls but when it comes time to making the dough balls, the author of the recipe fails to say how large to make them. So you have to guess and hope you grab enough dough but not too much dough when making each ball so you don’t run out of dough before you’ve made a dozen. This is an important miss since the size of the dough ball directly affects how long it needs to be baked.
Hi Mark, thank you for your comment. I truly apologize that you spent all of that time and effort and it didn’t turn out as you would expect. I’m so sorry, that is super frustrating.
I would also like to suggest 2 things here.
1. When you are cutting your dough into 12 equal pieces lay the dough on a flat surface in a square shape and cut them out into 4×4 squares creating a grid so your pieces are equal, also since you’ll be rolling them into balls anyway its okay to take a piece from one that’s bigger and add it to one that’s smaller. Just be sure the end result is a smooth ball of dough with the seam side down.
2. In the instructions, I say let the dough rest 10 minutes before boiling, I would actually say like 30-45 minutes. Your issue may have been that the dough was under-proofed making it dense and not cook normally.
I will make sure, to go in and fix that. Sorry again.
So… you add the cup of water to the flour… and then use the 10 cups of water for boiling, right?