I have said it time and time again, nothing beats the enticing aroma of freshly baked pretzel buns or bread rolls in your home..hmm! I don’t know if this is just me, but some days, I find myself just wanting to bury my fingers in warm dough and bake something delicious. It was one of those days last Saturday.
I was planning to host a few friends, very unplanned. Then I got thinking about something that would have a cinnamon hint to it, and then the thought hit me.
Why not make some hot, fluffy, sweet pretzel buns topped with a dusting of cinnamon sugar? The spirit was leading me right because my oh my, was it a-m-a-z-i-n-g!
Have you tried out our sweet Toogbei/Wet Ghanaian Bofrot/Puff Puff ? You should!
Pretzel Buns
Pretzels are known for a signature taste and aroma. These buns are sort of a dinner bun version of soft pretzels. I wanted a pretzel flavour with a buttery and sweet finish.
Considering these were going to be topped off with cinnamon sugar, I was very modest with the sugar that went into the dough, but you can certainly adjust the sweetness to your liking.
This recipe is one you would want to keep close for a nice Saturday morning when you seem blank on what to make for breakfast. And I know what you may be thinking – I will have to wait for the dough to rise and that can take forever.
The good news here is the proof-time is just 30 minutes! If you are not sure what to do during that time, begin prepping your tea or coffee items ahead of these tantalizing buns you are about to have.
The Dough
I used a stand mixer to knead my dough, mostly because I just got a fresh set, but you can certainly knead this by hand. The dough may appear sticky, but that is on purpose, add some flour in bits as needed to get it to come together.
Aside from flouring your counter-top, you can also rub some oil on your palms to make the dough workable. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with too many words, as I suspect you just need the recipe so you can get to baking!
Have you tried some of our other sweet and savoury recipes The Secret Recipe to the Fluffiest Vanilla Cupcakes or How to Make Flaky Nigerian Meat Pie?
Ingredients for Making Pretzel Buns
Some of the ingredients you will need are:
Flour
Regular all-purpose flour will be just fine for this recipe.
Warm Milk
This is used in place of warm water, either fine or I simply like the flavour of warm milk.
Active Dry Yeast
We will be using fast-acting dry yeast activated with some sugar.
Baking Soda
This will be used for the baking soda bath that each ball of dough will be dipped into before baking. The baking soda bath is imperative as it is what gives pretzels their iconic taste, color and flavour.
If baked long enough, it also contributes to the browning of the buns. I wanted mine closer to dinner rolls, hence, I did not let them soak too long in the baking soda bath.
Unsalted Butter
You will need to have this melted in a microwave before adding to the dough mix. I melted a little extra and brushed it on the hot pretzels before sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar.
Cinnamon Sugar
This is optional, some other people sprinkle sea salt instead, whichever suits your taste is just fine.
Looking for another recipe to satisfy your sweet craving, try out my Warm and Sweet Strawberry Cobbler
The measurements in this recipe can make about 12-14 pretzel buns, but my honest advice? Double up on the measurements because these will be cleared out before you say Jack Robinson.
How to Make the Fluffiest Pretzel Buns
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Microwave
Ingredients
The Dough
- 4 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 cups warm milk
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tsp salt
Baking Soda Bath
- 10 cups of water
- 3/4 cup of baking soda
Cinnamon Sugar
- 3 Tbsp white or brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the warm milk, yeast and sugar, set aside for 5 minutes to activate the yeast, you should see a light foamy surface.
- Add in the flour, salt and half of the melted butter (the other half is for Step 7).
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula to begin mixing the dough till it comes together, the dough will end up being sticky but if it feels too sticky, you can add some flour as needed.
- Transfer to a floured surface and begin to knead the dough, or if using a stand mixer, knead on medium speed till the dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes or doubled in size in a warm place.
- Preheat oven to 400F, beat out air from the dough, transfer to an oiled surface, and divide into 12 equal portions, if you like the buns smaller, you can adjust the portions to get 14 sections. Shape each portion into a ball.
- Heat up your water in a large pot and let it come to a boil. Add in the baking soda and dip each dough ball into the baking soda bath, toss around for 30 seconds and take out, place each ball on the baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes or brown to your liking. Take out, brush with the leftover melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.
Notes
- If you add your yeast to the warm milk and sugar, let it sit for 5 minutes and if it does not bloom (become slightly foamy on the surface), your yeast may be dead and this will prevent the dough from rising properly.
- After the dough balls are dipped in the baking soda bath, they will come out wrinkly, this is perfectly normal.
- When adding the baking soda to the boiled water, you may want to add it in gradually to avoid the bath from overflowing, this happens when too much baking soda is tossed in at once.
Whatever you do, don’t have this alone, this is goodness that should be shared with friends and loved ones. Drop a like or comment to let me know if you will be trying this! If you are a lover of baked goods, check out my banana recipe here.
