Pretzel Sandwich Buns

It seems like pretzel buns are everywhere these days, and I love it!  Even Wendy’s has embraced the pretzel bun…not sure that I will be sampling that anytime soon.  But whenever I see a sandwich on pretzel bread at a real restaurant I get really excited.  So I decided that I needed to make some at home!  Great decision.  These pretzel buns were so good!!  Crusty and salty on the outside, chewy and doughy on the inside – a perfect roll for any sandwich, or even to eat plain.  We made jalapeno burgers to put on our pretzel buns.  Burgers and pumpkin beer to watch the first Notre Dame football game of the season – perfection!  

These do take a little bit of time to make, but it is so worth it!

So chewy and salty

A great snack spread!

Jalapeno burger with pepper jack cheese on a pretzel bun – perfect football food!

Add in a pumpkin beer (from our favorite local brewery, Captain Lawrence) and now you have perfect football food!

Pretzel Sandwich Buns
Recipe from King Arthur Flour 

Ingredients
Dough:
1 ¾ cups (397 g) warm water
2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
¾ teaspoon salt
4 ½ (539 g) cups all-purpose flour
¼ (35 g) cup nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast
Coarse sea salt for topping

Water Bath:
2 quarts (1814 g) water
1 tablespoon (14 g) salt
¼ cup (57 g) baking soda

Directions
Add the warm water, butter, ¾ tsp salt, flour, dry milk and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together and then knead with the dough hook for about 7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface. Divide the dough into 10 pieces and shape each piece into a smooth ball. Place the dough balls on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare the water bath – bring the water, salt, and baking soda to a boil in a large pot.

Drop 5 dough balls at a time into the water bath. Cook for 30 seconds, flip them over and cook for 30 seconds longer. Using a slotted spoon, return the buns to the greased baking sheet.

Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut ½” deep crosses into the center of each bun. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Bake for 20 – 24 minutes, until they are deep brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.