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)
EXCELLENT recipe! As something of a grass fed Angus aficionado, (raising it AND cooking it, but most of all EATING it!) I can say with certainty that, yesterday, these were the perfect rolls for grass fed beef sliders! And a real easy recipe, too! THANK YOU!
Oh my goodness, these were amazing and very easy to make!
These turned out just like the picture. It’s a quarantine baking miracle! I feel like a baking goddess. Thanks for the step by step pictures, they really helped!
Way to go, Mary!
I converted the measurements to grams and ended up with 30 rolls. Other than that, they came out great. I agree with the other commenter–the parchment paper didn’t need oiling. Unfortunately, I read that after the fact.
These turned out pretty good. I am not sure if you the parchment needs to be lightly oiled for baking because I found the bottom of them remained soft and slightly greasy. I also found it hard to pinch the bottoms.
Just wanted to add, I have made them for the second time. They are so good. I still have problems pinching the bottom though. I also baked without the oiled parchment and they came out much better. Wish there was a way to post a photo here.
Is there a way to use active dry yeast in place of the instant yeast in this recipe?
Yes, use the same amount of active dry yeast and proof it in 1/4 cup water and a pinch of sugar until bubbly and then use in the recipe.
So soft and delicious! Will definitely make again. Made shredded honey mustard chicken sandwiches with these rolls, and family loved it.
One word… delicious!
These were absolutely DELICIOUS!!! It was my first time making pretzels and will definitely make more in the near future
Delicious rolls. All my family loves them. I am quite inexperienced with baking and so easy to make. Thank you for sharing with us this recipe.
I used 8 cups of flour for this recipe! I live in Wisconsin so I needed the whole amount of flour!
It was fun to make. I also put butter on top of the bread also! So good! Will totally make this recipe again!
Hi Mel,
I found your site on a search for pretzel bread recipes. The photos of your rolls were just what I was looking for. I haven’t made the rolls yet, but I have one question for you. Why don’t you use weight amounts of ingredients in your recipes? Going by weight would be much easier for amateurs to get the desired type of dough you describe.
Hi Joel, I use weight measures for most of my recipes posted in the last several years, but this is an older recipe I haven’t updated yet. Also, I’ve found with bread recipes that using an exact weight measure can be problematic for flour when it’s really the texture and feel of the dough that is paramount and the exact amount of flour can depend based on temperature, elevation, humidity, how everyone measures flour, etc. Hope that helps!
Delicious pretzel bread! Thank you for a great recipe. I am very inexperienced in the kitchen and I’m still amazed they turned out great 🙂
These rolls are a huge hit with our family. We dice them up in crouton sized pieces and use them in your stovetop stuffing recipe. Not sure which one my kids gobble up faster, a fresh pretzel roll or the Thanksgiving stuffing made with them (which is now one of their holiday favorites). Thanks for all your fantastic recipes!
Thanks, Kristy – I think I might change my mind and make that stuffing for Thanksgiving this year!
I baked them on a lightly oiled parchment and it is completely stuck to the bottom of every roll. Really disappointed. They taste good, not overly pretzel flavor but good.
Oh. My. Gosh. I just made these to make the croutons for your Cauliflower soup. I ALMOST just went to Trader Joe’s to buy pretzel rolls and SOOOO glad I didn’t. Wow wow wow. They look beautiful (totally surprised myself was not expecting mine to turn out pretty) and they are soooo good. My kids are going NUTS over them. I’m just hoping we have enough left for the croutons! Lol
You are amazing, Amanda!
Can I turn these into pretzel sticks , pretzel bites, and regular pretzels? Please let me know.
Yes, I think you could!
I make them into pretzel bites all of the time. They’re everybody’s favorite.
I made these today and swapped the milk for almond milk and did 4 cups whole wheat flour and 5 cups all purpose! They are beautiful and delicious!! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Thanks for letting us know the almond milk worked!
Hi Mel . These look delicious.
Can I skip the sugar in the water bath. It might
Make the rolls sweet. I do not want sweet rolls.
And does instant yeast already have sugar
In it? Please let me know by e-mailing me at
midnight0675@frontier.com
Hi Heather – no, instant yeast does not have sugar in it. You can skip the sugar in the water bath but the pretzel rolls may not bake up with that nice golden crust (the sugar helps with that and doesn’t make the rolls taste overly sweet).
Am I right in assuming I’m not suppose to punch the dough down?
Hey Brian, the dough naturally deflates as you separate the dough into roll-size portions.
These pretzel rolls are truly amazing! Every family gathering I am asked to bring along a recipe or two.
These are so yummy. I’m glad they are a hit with your family!
These were an easy dough to make and baked up light (for a pretzel roll), chewy and delicious. Easy to follow instructions, many thanks. Surprised it only took one package of yeast for such a nice rise and 8 cups of flour. Made wonderful slider sandwiches for dinner.
The best recipe for pretzel rolls!! I make thesr when we’re having bbq pork sandwiches or beef.
My family and I LOVE, LOVE these rolls! I have to admit, the first time I made them, although they tasted good, they were not picture-perfect, but I’ve made them a few more times, and I don’t know what I’m doing differently, but they are beautiful picture-perfect rolls. I use dry-active yeast, since that’s what I have on hand, so I mix the warm water and yeast together, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes before proceeding with the recipe. When I made these today, I actually weighed all the flour that I used, and it was 9 cups of flour (1104 grams). The dough was still soft and a little sticky, but not floury or too dry, so even though that’s different from your recipe, that’s what’s working well for me… which is so weird, since I live in a dry desert climate. I like brushing the UN-baked rolls with melted butter and then sprinkling them with Maldon salt. Then, after they come out of the oven, I brush them with more melted butter. These rolls are so fantastic and delicious! I’m SO happy I’ve discovered them. I love finding new, fun bread/roll recipes. This is definitely a recipe I will make again and again. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this recipe! We make them almost every weekend and they are quickly becoming a favorite.
I love this recipe and they taste great!! I only have one issue and that is they never turn out like your picture no matter what I try (want them to look perfect also). They split open pretty bad no matter how I cut the tops or how long I let them rise or let them boil. What am i doing wrong?
Hi Mike – are they splitting on the side or the top?
Definitely a favorite at this house! I’ve made these now several times and had excellent results every time. I like to make mine a little smaller, so I can get about two dozen smaller rolls out of this recipe.
Hi Mel!
I plan to make these as part of Thanksgiving dinner.
Do you think I could make the dough ahead of time and stick in the fridge?
Thank you!
Kel
Yes! Should work just fine.
I’ve been making these with your recipe for gatherings for a few years now. You don’t exaggerate when you say “rockstar status”. I (and everyone else I’ve given them to) love them.
Glad you love the recipe, Mitch!
These are the best ever. They are now our family “dinner rolls” for all of our holiday meals.
This pretzel roll recipe is without a doubt the best recipe for bread rolls I have ever tried!! Thank you so much for sharing this! They smell and taste so good they make me smile!!!
Seriously over 60% of the food I make comes from your recipes! I couple of years ago, I tried making pretzel rolls and they were heavy, pale disasters, so I gave up! I stumbled on your recipe (which I should have checked for first) and made them today. SO amazing! My husband, who I greatly love but is in no shape or form a foodie, said that I should only ever make your food 🙂 You’re the only food blogger he’s on a first name basis with 😉
Thanks for the BEST winner!
Oh, Becky – you made my day with your comment! And don’t worry, it often pains me that Brian is not a foodie either (he’d eat hot dogs every day for the rest of his life if it weren’t for this ol’ food blog). I’m so happy these pretzel rolls were awesome!
They came out so yummy,!! I only half the amount of salt and didn’t add the salt on top, but when they came out of the oven I rub some butter on them.
I’ve made these before and have had great results. Unfortunately I almost never take notes on how much flour I end up needing, even though I almost always have to use more than Mel does (with all of MKC bread recipes, not just this one). I am a seasoned bread baker who uses a kitchen scale and I attribute the difference in flour needs to the high humidity where I live (east coast). That is my totally unscientific opinion. 🙂 Anyhow, today I am making one and a half times this recipe for a barbecue. I had to add 17.5 cups (!!) of flour before it would clear the sides and be workable with my hands without leaving them covered in dough. Yes, that’s more than double the flour amount and only 1.5 times the amount of liquids. Thankful for my huge Kitchen Aid! It handled it like a champ. Would definitely not recommend trying to increase this recipe unless you have a large capacity mixer.
Thanks for the feedback, Meg – I do think humidity levels make a huge difference! I live in a very dry climate, but when I lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota, which were more humid, I found I had to add more flour, too.
Man are these good! I’ve made pretzels before, but I love this recipe and making it into rolls is way simpler (which translates to faster). Great recipe! (I made these into Reubens twice for company so far and got rave reviews. I highly recommend making them. Just cut the rolls, slap on some Thousand Island – homemade is yummy – on the bottom half, put on some corned beef and swiss cheese, top with shredded cabbage and drizzle a mix of 5 Tbsp melted unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard, and 2 tsp dried minced onions on the cabbage. Bake in 9 x 13 pan covered with foil for 30 min at 350 degrees. You will love – I promise!)
Just finished making these. Yum yum. And my daughter came down as I was dividing into sixteenths asking for the pizza I was making for dinner… my dough was not defrosted, so I said I would try a piece of this dough! She loved it!! Double win tonight!! Thank you.
Any better advice on storing? I am using them tomorrow. Don’t want to bag because of salt. Thinking of just leaving them on baking rack.
Yeah, I’d probably leave them out or lightly cover with a towel. Fun idea to use the dough for pizza!
Hi Mel,
I want to start by saying that a number of your cookie recipes are my go-to favorites. Great job on those!
Anyways, about two months ago I started my own wildly fermented rye sourdough starter, and it’s been a bit of an obsession of mine. My husband’s daily lunch usually consists of a pretzel roll or pretzel croissant sandwich. We live in Germany, so those are easily obtained at a bakery a short walk away, but I wanted to make some using my sourdough starter. Here are the modifications I made to your recipe to make delicious wild sourdough pretzel rolls.
Ingredients:
Replace instant yeast with 1 cup fed sourdough starter
Decrease warm milk to 1-1/2 cups
Decrease warm water to 1 cup
Other ingredients remain the same
Instructions:
The night before, mix together 4-3/4 cup flour, sourdough starter, warm milk, and warm water in a large bowl. Cover and let ferment in a warm place 14 – 16 hours.
After 14 – 16 hours, mix in the oil and salt. Then add 1 cup of flour.
Then continue on with your recipe from the sentence “Add the rest of the flour gradually until a soft dough is formed and knead for 3-4 minutes.” in the first step.
Thanks for these details, Emily!
Hi Emily and Mel,
I tried the sourdough modification this week and it worked really well, thanks to you both!
I had to go out while the second proof was occurring so I put the dough in the fridge for 4-5 hours and it was fine. I also had to add about 1.5 cups more flour, but as Mel says, it is about adjusting the dough consistency rather than actual amounts of flour.
Hi Mel,
I have been laid up in bed for the last couple of weeks and craving Big Soft Pretzels and most recipes your lucky to get 4 good size ones out of (when I say Big I mean Big) Yours were absolutely perfect I not only got 8 huge pretzels I got 8 buns as well and I didn’t have to increase the recipe at all!! They are so soft and moist inside and crisp chewy outside. I didn’t use the soda bath instead I used a Honey bath like a bagel so you get that sweet and salty then after they were baked I gave them a dip in melted butter and added a bit of sea salt (I had already doused them in kosher salt before baking) Like you I tend to change things a bit when I bake, I also added 2 cups of bread flour into the first 4 cups of AP to increase the gluten and make them a bit crisper on the outside (I also used a pan of water for steam on the bottom rack of the oven) Thank You so much for such a versatile recipe. I have done them to you instructions as well and they are delicious I now have a freezer full of pretzel rolls for the summer BBQs or a quick dinner
Hi Mel, just wondering, what happens if you use all water and no milk? Are they still soft and chewy? Making for a Lenten meal and the group does not eat dairy during this time.
Thanks!
The texture might be a little different, but it’s worth a try.
I love this recipe. I’ve used it for hamburger / slider buns, brat buns and I’ve made them into pretzel bite stuffed with cheese curds (it’s a Wisconsin thing) or chunks of cheese. Omg awesome! The key is to freeze the cheese before stuffing in the pretzel bites, reduce the boil time (literally put them in the water for a few seconds, flip them over and pull them out), I don’t put the cuts in the dough (too small) and reduce the bake time. I’ve also rolled the dough out into strips instead of small balls (like the ones stuffed with cheese), cut them into bite size pieces, boil and bake like above; then dipped them in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar mix. Serve with melted chocolate sauce, Nutella sauce or caramel sauce. My kids and their friends love those! Thanks for the dough recipe, the possibilities are endless with it. Very yummy.
These are soooo good! I do think I’ll brush them with butter next time after they are done baking. My husband and son were drooling over them. Lol I cut one 3 ways so we could sample one before eating some with a big salad for supper. I wrapped the remaining ones up tight to freeze for future meals. I forgot to let them rest for 15-20 minutes, but they turned out just fine and beautiful.
Oh. Em. Gee. With your wonderful directions, you just turned someone who had NEVER made buns before into a baking QUEEN! Thank you! We’re having pulled pork for dinner tonight and I can’t WAIT to surprise my family with these. Your bun rolling tutorial was just the ticket!
Yay!
Oh. My. Goodness. SO much fun! These turned out fantastic! And so easy! Thank you!
Hi Mel,
My husband not-so-subtley sent me the link to this recipe after a few pointed comments that ‘pretzel rolls sound REALLY good’. It’s New Years Eve over here in New Zealand so as requested I have rustled up a batch this morning,while he works on a slow-cooked pork shoulder – great teamwork!
We couldn’t help but try one fresh from the oven – so good!! They taste just like pretzels and have a lovely texture. Can’t wait to whack some pulled pork into them later this arvo and see how they’re received by our guests.
I realised as I took the last tray out of the oven that I had used ‘active yeast’ and you’ve called for ‘instant’ (which I think is Surebake in NZ, but I’m not 100% sure.) However they still turned out really good so I’ve been lucky this time! Next time, I’ll take your hint mentioned in a previous comment about getting the yeast underway first if I use the same yeast again.
These really are delicious and your recipe is perfect – I haven’t made bread since I was a wee girl helping my mum in the kitchen so I was apprehensive and nervous, but you have made a flawless, foolproof recipe and make me look good in the process.
Thank you so much for your beautiful blog & recipes! Happy New Year to you and your family – may 2017 be an excellent one for you all.
So glad they worked out, Sarah! Happy new year!
I absolutely love these rolls and my family always requests them at large gatherings. Any thoughts on freezing methods? Part cooked/ full cooked or after water bath?
I always freeze them after they’ve baked and cooled.
I made these yesterday. They came out great. I had no troubles with sticking, I just lightly brush my parchment with oil. They reheat lovely in the oven!
I’ve been making these rolls for a few years – they’re a favorite with friends and family! We typically use them for pulled pork sandwiches or black bean burgers. Yesterday, however, I was feeling creative and I made smaller rolls than usual (about 3 oz each), and when I started them on the second rise, I first stuffed them with a delicious ball of shredded cheese, spice sausage, and caramelized onions! After a 20 min rise, I boiled them and baked them like normal. They came out DELICIOUS! Would highly recommend for anyone wanting to feel extremely accomplished 🙂
Great recipe. I actually had to use about 9 cups of flour but they turned out amazing. We used them for pulled pork sandwiches but they were great just as is.
Mel, I love this recipe, these are A-MAZING!! I did have one problem that I tried to read to see if anyone else had but couldn’t find. My rolls stuck to my greased parchment paper and I actually had to end up cutting parts of the bottoms off (not that that deterred anyone from eating them :)) Suggestions?? can I bake then on silcone sheets?
Hi Tami – yes, you could bake them on silpat liners instead of parchment.
I tried this recipe for dinner and it was my first try on pretzel rolls. They turned out A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi
I am using a convection microwave oven and the max temp is only 400 degree Fahrenheit (200 degree Celsius)Do you think it will work? Tks
I’ve never used an oven like that so I’m not sure; you’ll have to experiment. Good luck!