Soft Pretzel Rolls
Out of the oven these soft pretzel rolls are perfectly puffy and wonderfully salty and chewy. They look like they come from a gourmet bakery!
So I know I tend to be a bit dramatic about food, but I kid you not, these soft pretzel rolls are one of the best breads to ever come out of my kitchen.
And I’ve made a lot of bread over the years.
Brian didn’t even believe I actually made these (rude!) because they look like something that would come from a gourmet bakery or fancy restaurant, neither of which happen to be in big supply in my cute little town.
In his defense, I do have to admit that even I let out a real, live squeal of joy when I first made these and they came out of the oven looking like, well, pretzel rolls!
Rich, dark brown color, perfectly puffed and wonderfully salty and chewy. I promise that not only are these absolutely makeable (not nearly as hard as you think, I promise!), they will solidify instant rockstar status. I’m not kidding…just look at them.
I just looked and now I want to eat 50 right this minute.
I’ve included a step-by-step below for anyone a little hesitant about delving into the world of pretzel rolls (don’t be hesitant!).
Boiling the dough in a baking soda water bath prior to baking gives the pretzel rolls a delightfully chewy texture and helps crisp up the outside of the roll while baking.
And can I just emphasize again for the sake of emphasizing that: oh my heavens, these rolls are amazing.
Through the many revisions of this recipe, we’ve enjoyed these babies with everything from soup to spaghetti to buns for sandwiches and grilled hamburgers.
Well, that’s when any of the rolls actually make it to mealtime. Most often, we gobble these perfectly perfect pretzel rolls up after they exit the oven and our favorite way to enjoy them is slightly warm with a thick wedge of sharp cheddar cheese.
Rockstar status, baby, rockstar status.
One Year Ago: Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones
Two Years Ago: Hearty Turkey and Bean Chili
Three Years Ago: Autumn Minestrone Soup
Amazing Soft Pretzel Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 cups warm milk, about 100-110 degrees F
- 1 ½ cups warm water, about 100-110 degrees F
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 ½ – 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Water Bath and Extras:
- 3 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ cup baking soda
- Coarse salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer (or you can do this by hand in a large bowl), stir together the yeast, oil, milk and water. Add the salt and two cups of the flour. Add the rest of the flour gradually until a soft dough is formed and knead for 3-4 minutes. You may not need to use all the flour depending on many different factors (see the note) – add the flour until a soft dough is formed that clears the sides of the bowl. It is similar in texture to bagel dough and should be slightly more stiff and less sticky than, say, roll dough, but definitely still soft and not overfloured.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size (1-2 hours).
- Portion the dough into 16 pieces and roll each piece of dough into a lovely little round ball. Here’s a great tutorial on how to do that quickly and efficiently.
- Lay out the rolls on lightly greased parchment or a lightly floured counter. Make sure the dough balls won’t stick! Let them rest for 15-20 minutes.
- While the dough rests, bring the water, sugar and baking soda to a boil in a large 5-6 quart saucepan.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, carefully take it off the parchment or counter, flip it over in your hand and pinch the bottom to form a little pucker and help the dough form a nice, taut ball. Take care not to deflate the dough; you should pinch just the very edge of the dough.
- Place 3-4 dough balls in the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side (the longer you boil, the chewier the baked pretzel roll will be).
- With a spatula, remove the dough from the boiling water and let the excess water drip off into the pan. Place the boiled dough balls onto lined baking sheets (lined with lightly greased parchment or a silpat liner).
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Using a very sharp knife or razor, slice 2-3 cuts into the top of each unbaked roll about 1/4-inch deep or so. It’s important to use a very sharp blade so that it cuts the dough without deflating it. It’s ok if the dough looks wrinkly and kind of funny. It will work itself out during baking. Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with coarse salt.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until the rolls are deep golden brown. These rolls definitely taste best the same day they are made; however, lightly warmed in the microwave for a few seconds will do wonders for pretzel rolls 1-2 days old.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (originally inspired by many versions online that made me decide to create my own variation; I wanted more milk in the dough than water, different amount of salt and instant yeast, simpler method for mixing the dough, among many other factors)
These look absolutely awesome! I have not had good experiences working with yeast, but I am definitely going to put these on my to-do list. Hopefully I’ll have better luck with these! So yummy looking.
Wow, these are awesome Mel, and I can’t explain clearly how quickly I’ll be making these!
I just made these and they were wonderful. . . But they became one with the parchment paper. I’d recommend spraying your parchment with nonstick if you like roll bottoms!!
OMG! These are SOOOOOOOOOO good! I made them earlier this week with your cheesy broccoli soup! Thanks 🙂
These were awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, scrolled through the comments but didn’t see this had already been asked, but can this recipe be halved? Thank you!
runnerpai – definitely worth a try (halving the recipe) – most bread recipes halve just fine although I haven’t specifically tried it with this one. Good luck!
First I have to say I love your site, I always find the best things to try. These rolls look delish – this will be on my to do list but I’m not a bread maker but I’m going to give it a try – your tutorial is fantastic! I love seeing you ALL over Tasty Kitchen – you are a rockstar!!
Totally felt like a rockstar today! I cooked these tasty hits with my new apron, and channelled Mel. Thank you so much – you’re now a household word here, describing food to look forward to. 🙂
These look fantastic! I got one of those Wendy’s burgers yesterday just for the bun (true story). I’ll have to make these.
I too love anything pretzel! I’ve made the cheese stuffed big pretzels, pretzel bites, pretzels buns and now I will try these pretzel rolls! I also ruined a Calphalon 4.5 qt stock pot making pretzels but, I just deemed it my “pretzel pot.” Thanks for the great “how to”! ~ MamaGing.com
That looks absolutely delish!! Going to try this very soon…your food photography is superb 🙂
These are amazing! Yum! I will definitely make them again.
I made these for dinner tonight – they were fantastic! I only had non-instant yeast and hadn’t read the comments yet so didn’t know about adding the extra amount, but they turned out fine (not as round as yours, but that could have been for a bunch of reasons). Very tasty. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Oh my goodness! You must be reading my mind I can hardly believe it! Kevin and I were in Chicago last week and ate at the amazing Weber Grill Restaurant where they served mini pretzel rolls. Kevin was begging me to find a recipe and low and behold here you are! 🙂 They served them with butter and with a cheddar butter which was my favorite. I will definitely try these for sure!
Mel, I have a recipe for you. Is there a way to email it to you?
Hi Sacha – you can send it through on the contact form here. Thanks!
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/contact-form
I got super brave and made these with 3-4 cups whole white wheat flour and the rest was all purpose bleached. They turned out amazing. I want to give them to strangers just to show off how amazing I am. Thanks Mel!
Great Recipe!! Delicious!! Thank you!!
I made these yesterday and we had them for dinner as part of pulled pork and coleslaw sandwiches. They got raves! It’s my first bread baking success! Thanks!
Hi Mel,
I just made these — they’re baking in the oven right now!
Question: Do they freeze well?
Thank you!
Catherine
Hi Catherine – yes, once the rolls are baked and cooled, you can freeze them in ziploc bags. Defrosted and warmed a bit – they are delicious!
Intimidated! The tutorial is such an encouragment. I’m really hesitant about pinching th bottoms of the rolls after they rise. I have always tiptoed carefully to place your “raised rolls” in the oven. Would it be possilbe to pinch the bottoms of the rolls before they rise? I thought maybe I would do this with most of the rolls and then leave a few to try your expert method of pinching after rising. Is this a bad idea? Should I just nervously, holding my breathe try pinching after they have risen? And, if that fails, can I let them re-rise a second time to start over or will they be ruined by a second rising?
Hi Sheila – if you are worried about deflating the rolls by pinching then try to get them into a very nice, round ball before they rest. The reason I pinch the bottom seam after they rest is because invariably when I pick them up off the parchment, they get a bit misshapen. And yes, you can always let them rise again!
I love love love soft pretzels! I’ve tried pretzel rolls and they were good, but kind of heavy to use for sandwiches. I can’t wait to try your recipe!!
These are almost enough to get me into the kitchen right now (it’s bedtime). Definitely going to try these!
Mel, thanks for the advice about the active dry yeast. I then made these cute rolls this afternoon. They don’t look quite as perfect as yours but they taste awesome! So much fun to make!
I’m just starting to make these right now. Looking at the recipe there is no mention of allowing time for the initial yeast mixture to rise a bit before adding flour. Is that how the recipe is or should I give it a few minutes?
No way! Now these are just the best, Mel. Sign me up for this Sunday project! Printing your recipe to try soon. Thanks for sharing!
This looks so good! I have some sourdough starter that I need to use. How would I incorporate it into this recipe?
TIA!
Mel, I LOVE pretzel rolls! Yours look beautiful in the pictures. Thanks for the recipe!
I will be making these tomorrow!!
I couldn’t wait to try these, so I just did, and I am eating one right now! DELICIOUS. Thanks for the great recipe! I’m sure I will make them again many times.
Sara, I was about to throw out some Calphalon pots that were losing their nonstick finish when someone reminded me that they have a lifetime warranty. I sent my pots in about a week ago, and I’m hopeful that they will replace them since I used them correctly and the finish still came off. Hopefully you haven’t thrown your out yet!
You have me drooling at the keyboard and craving a soft warm pretzel!
I have been on a pretzel making kick lately! Perfect timing on this post! I actually just made pretzels yesterday and thought I should make rolls! Now I’m super motivated to do so! I’m not quite sure mine would come out as perfect looking as yours though!! Awesome!
I’ve never seen such a thing! They look so good! Thanks for the pictures, makes it less intimidating for beginner bakers.:)
I am so making these. Does it matter if you use whole or low fat milk? What kind did you use in the recipe? They look absolutely delish.
Hi Beth – I used 1% milk.
Sara – that’s a really good question. I use stainless pots and haven’t ever had a problem (making these and bagels) but I really wouldn’t want anyone to ruin a pot! My pots are pretty inexpensive Farber stainless steel pots if that helps.
I can’t wait to try these! My NYC-raised husband grew up on pretzel rolls and we can’t get them now that we live out west. Thank you!! Big question: I was on a homemade pretzel kick a few years back and destroyed my best (and most expensive!) Calphalon pot with the baking soda bath. It stripped the finish off from the water line down. I’ve been afraid to do a baking soda bath again for fear of losing another pot. Is basic stainless going to survive? Thanks!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it! My husband loves the pretzel rolls from Costco and always asks me if I can make them…now the answer will be ‘YES!’ Thank you so much for sharing!
Are they better than your pretzel bites? Because my taste buds and love handles are hooked on those things 🙂
It may only be my computer, but is anyone else having problems printing the recipe? It pulls up a new page but it’s blank. 🙁
These look YUMMY!!!!
Hi Ciera – I just tried to print and it worked fine for me. Try it again and if you still have issues, let me know. Thanks!
Hi Mel, love you website, started exploring it just a couple of months ago. We seem to have a lot in common, from loving to cook all the way down to husbands named Brian who love Brazilian food–good thing I found a picture of yours on the website, was starting to wonder if mine had a double life!
Pretzel rolls look amazing, will definitely try…..
But my love for you and your website are not what finally inspired me to comment. It was anger. I’ve been mad for days that your children would argue over the remains of GREEN LENTIL CURRY SOUP! I guess our similarities had to end somewhere. Well, you definitely can’t have my husband, but maybe you’d like to trade children??
Love pretzel rolls! So excited to try these. For a little treat, I like to eat them dipped in butter and cinnamon/sugar.
Thanks for the recipe!!
I can’t wait to try these! I’ve made a couple of recipes for pretzel rolls (1 was ok, 1 was good), but I’m still on the look out for something perfect! I love the color on these…I’m guessing the milk in the recipe helps with that?
I think I’ll try making these by hand instead of in the kitchen aid…the dough might be a little bulky for that.
These are complete perfection! I have a version of pretzel rolls on my blog, but I totally want to cheat on them with your recipe!
I have bought these at a bakery, and we loved them. I never thought you could make them look that good at home. Thanks Mel!
I was intimidated by pretzel rolls, but also felt like a rock star when they came out looking like pretzel rolls! I will definitely try your recipe.
Another great recipe! I will be making these this afternoon to eat with one of your lasagna recipes. Thanks again for all the wonderful recipes and for making our lives easier!
These look fantastic! Looking forward to making them! Of course I don’t have instant yeast in the house but regular yeast. Do I just follow the directions on the jar and then add it to the recipe?
Hi Missy – if you don’t have instant yeast, you can substitute active dry (increase by about 1/2 teaspoon) and proof it in the warm milk/water before using it in the recipe. Basically you don’t want to throw the yeast in with all the other ingredients until it has proofed and gotten bubbly and foamy.
Thank you so much for this tip!!
I have been asked to make pretzels from your recipe, three Saturdays in a row. They are literally gone minutes after coming out of the oven. I am going to try these this afternoon. Hopefully, they will last for a few lunches throughout the week!
These look so delicious! Thank you for the pictures. They really help to make it look more doable. And the little hand is too cute!
I love making pretzel rolls. Mmmm. They’re so perfect. These look beautiful and delicious. Can’t wait to give them a try!
Yay! I just tried pretzel rolls for the first time this summer and loved them! I was so hoping you’d find a good recipe and share it, since your recipes are always my favorite! I will definitely be making these.