Chewy and salty on the outside and soft on the inside. These homemade pretzel buns are delicious and easy to make. They can be enjoyed on their own or used as a bun for sandwiches or hamburgers.
I LOVE pretzel buns. You can use them for hamburger buns but I prefer just to eat the on their own as a snack. Best of all they're easy to make than the classic soft pretzels. They have the same taste as soft pretzels, but in bun form.
Why This Recipe Works
Use basic ingredients. This recipe uses basic ingredients that you probably already have in you cupboards.
Easy to make than soft pretzels. Shaping pretzels can be tricky and take a lot of practice. Shaping the bread into buns is much easier to do.
Tastes amazing. These buns have the same taste and texture of a soft pretzel but in bun form.
Texture. These buns have a slight crunchy and chewy outside and a soft and pillowy texture inside.
How to Make the Pretzel Buns
Making the Dough
To make these pretzel buns first you have to activate the yeast. Do this by measuring out 1 and 1/4 cup of warm water (bath temperature) and mix in the yeast and sugar. Let this sit for 10 minutes, you will see a layer of foam form when activated.
When the yeast has been activated add it to the flour along with the melted butter. Start on a low speed setting and mix until the dough begins to form. After dough has come together continue kneading for 7 minutes.
Remove the dough, grease the bowl, and add the dough back in. Spin it around a few times to grease the top of the dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
Shaping the Pretzel Buns
After rising, gently punch the dough down and remove from the bowl. Divide dough into 8 equal size pieces (you can just eye ball it). Form each dough into a ball. Shape each portion into a ball. Do this by pulling at the sides and tucking the access dough underneath.
Once the ball is formed place it on the counter with the tucked side down. Cup the dough with both hands and turn the ball in one direction. This will help tighten the shape. Keep doing this for about a minute or until you feel some tension in the dough.
Place formed buns on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 20 minutes or so while you get the oven preheated and water boiling.
Boiling the Buns
Preheat the oven and boil water and baking soda in a large pot. You want to use a large pot because the baking soda makes a lot of bubbles. Drop dough balls in two at a time (you don't want to over crowd) and let boil for 30 seconds per side. After boiled remove with a slotted spoon and place on the baking tray.
With a sharp knife score an X on top of each bun and coat with coarse sea salt.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until bread is a deep brown colour. Let buns cool on the pan a little before enjoying.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
STORING THE Buns
These buns are best served on the day they are made. You can keep them at room temperature for 2 days but the salt will start to melt.
WHAT DOES SPOONED AND LEVELLED FLOUR MEAN?
Spooned and levelled flour refers to the way of measuring flour. To properly measure flour you should scoop spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and then level off the access by scraping with a knife. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour causes the flour to compress and you will get more flour than the recipe calls for.
Why do I need to do a baking soda bath for the pretzels?
The baking soda bath is what gives pretzels that thick dark brown crust. Without it the pretzel buns will just look like regular buns. It also gives the pretzels that classic tangy taste.
How Do I know if my yeast is activated?
You'll know your yeast is activated when it starts to develop a foam on top. See picture above. If it does not activate it may be that your yeast is old and has gone bad. Or your water was not warm enough.
If you make these pretzel buns please leave a star rating and comment below!
For more delicious baking ideas you can follow me on Pinterest and Instagram @jessiebakestreats
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Pretzel Buns
Equipment
- large bowl
- baking pan
- pot
Ingredients
Pretzel Buns
- 1 & 1/4 C warm water
- 2 & 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/4 C salted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- 3 & 1/2 C all purpose flour spooned and levelled*
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil for greasing the bowl
Boiling Pretzels
- 1/2 C baking Soda
- 6 C water boiled
- coarse sea salt for topping
Instructions
Making the Pretzel Dough
- In a small measuring cup add warm water, yeast, and sugar. Gently stir and set aside for 10 minutes. This will activate the yeast and you will see and you will see a foam form.1 & 1/4 C warm water, 2 & 1/4 tsp active dry yeast, 1 tsp white sugar
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add in the flour and the salt, mix together.3 & 1/2 C all purpose flour, 2 tsp salt
- Add in the activated yeast mixture and salted butter.1/4 C salted butter
- Use a dough hook on a stand mixer on low speed or mix by hand until the dough is formed. It should form one cohesive ball that is not sticky and manageable to touch, and no flour/dough sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl.
- Once dough is formed continue kneading for about another 6-7 minutes. You can tell the dough is kneaded well if it can be stretched well without breaking or you can gently press down on it with your finger and the dough puffs back up.
- Remove kneaded dough from bowl and add about 1/2 tbsp of oil to grease the bowl. Once greased add dough back in the bowl. Flip dough over a few times to grease the top of the ball.1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and place somewhere warm to rise. Let rise for an hour or until dough has doubled in size.
Shaping the Pretzel Buns
- Once dough has doubled in size gently punch it down, remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured work surface.
- Knead the dough by hand for about a minute. Then divide dough into 8 equal sized portions.
- Shape each portion into a ball. Do this by pulling at the sides and tucking the access dough underneath. Once the ball is formed place it on the counter with the tucked side down. Cup the dough with both hands and turn the ball in one direction. This will help tighten the shape. Keep doing this for about a minute or until you feel some tension in the dough.
- Place formed dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise while you get the oven preheated and the water ready to boil.
Boiling the Pretzels
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- In a large pot bring water and baking soda to a boil. You want to use a large pot because the baking soda water makes lots of bubbles.6 C water, 1/2 C baking Soda
- Once boiled lower in the pretzel buns in two at a time. Boil for 30 seconds then flip the buns and boil the other side for 30 seconds. Remove the buns and place on the parchment paper.
- Once removed, use a sharp knife score an X patter on the top of each boiled bun and generously sprinkle with course sea salt. Continue these two steps with all the buns.coarse sea salt
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until bread is a deep brown colour. Let buns cool on the pan a little before enjoying.
Notes
@brotherbaker
These were phenomenal! Chewy and salty on the outside and unbelievably soft on the inside. They had that perfect pretzel flavour and Jessie’s recipe was so easy to follow! Definitely recommend this if you’ve got a craving for some soft pretzel goodness without the effort of shaping/twisting dough!
Jessie M
Thank you so much for the review! I'm very happy you enjoyed them :)
Carrie M
So excited about this recipe, as Sprouts recently discontinued their pretzel buns ☹️ These are delicious, way better than any store bought bun and relatively easy to make, just several steps. I will make these regularly now! I may make them into 6 buns next time though, as they are a little small for the burger!!
Kristina Nichols
I made these for the first time today. No flaws in the steps! Everything came out great and tastes so yummy! So soft! I have never made pretzel bread before and am very pleased with the results. It's all to do with easy to follow, proper instructions.
Christy
Turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!!
Catarina
They got stuck to the parchment paper after baking :(
Other than that they were great
Julia Gearing
Love the recipe. SOOO delicious. I used one to create a cheeseburger. Bookmarking this. I brushed the buns with egg wash before sprinkling salt and baking. Tastes like a pretzel.
Linda L Klee
Oh my goodness, this recipe is so good. I've been sharing it with my friends and family.
Deanna
Amazing turn out and easy to follow directions! Thank you!
Jessie M
So happy you enjoyed them!!
Ashley
These were amazing. I didn’t eat them all so we froze the rest-i didn’t salt them beforehand. They’ve kept great! And tasted the exact same after defrosting
Doris
Can I make the dough in a Bread Maker?
Jessie M
I haven't myself, but I don't see why not:)
SKW2
Fantastic recipe! Easy too! The family loves them. Thanks for a great recipe.
Cherie
Your recipe sounds great, easy and precise! I'm wanting to make these for a small gathering, about 24, but I don't want to make all the same day. Do you have any freezing suggestions?
Jessie M
Unfortunately, these buns are best day of and don't store great. I'm sorry!
Tiffany
I've made these several times now, and every time, they turn out sooo good! I love making them, and I love sharing them with my family and friends! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
Beth
These came out awesome! Very easy recipe to follow and the whole family enjoyed them! 😍
KM
Excellent recipe! I make these all the time for burgers, and they’re always a hit.
They are best day of. But, against Jessie’s advice I do freeze them to keep them longer. The only ill effect is on the texture of the tops - they lose the texture of the pretzel “skin” on the outside and the salt more of less dissolves. I reheat them in the oven and they’re just fine for me and my partner. If I was doing these for guests or a gathering, I would not recommend freezing.
Kelsey T
So delicious!!! (Even with old yeast 😂) buttery, just salty enough. I only had maldon flake sea salt for the tops but that was amaaaaazing!
Katt
Outrageously good. These sent me straight to heaven with only one bite. Never buying store bought pretzel buns again.
Stephanie
Can you freeze them? After you make them. And if so about how long will they last?
Jessie M
I'm sorry but because of the salt on top, they really do not freeze well.
Bee
Other recipes say you can freeze pretzel buns as long as you don't top them with salt before baking. Then, when you're ready to use them from frozen, brush them with melted butter, then salt them and then bake them until they're warmed through. I don't see why that wouldn't work with this recipe too.
Margarita Givargiz
Finally found a good recipe for pretzel buns! I shared it with three people already! Excellent recipe! Thank you!!
Jody
Made this recipe several times I recommend it very easy. Taste is amazing.
Adriana
We wanted to make burgers and didn't want store-bought buns, so we googled a pretzel bun recipe. Don't think we're ever going to buy buns again—the results were excellent.
Jennifer
They turned out great! I have a smaller oven so they did finish in half the time but were fluffy and a perfectly browned. I wish I could add a picture here for everyone to see - they are truly beginner friendly and easy to whip up on a Sunday afternoon.
Sue
How well do these buns freeze?
Jessie M
These buns do not freeze well :(
Ruby Rodriguez
I made these and inside their so good! But the outside is like REALLY salty and bitter could it be from the baking soda? Also I did not salt the outside, my husband isn’t a fan of the salted tops
Alex
I don't own a stand mixer with attachments but the recipe still turned out great with the utensils I could utilize.
KC
Same, I did it all by hand and it was still so easy!
Darlene Jensen
An instant hit with the family. I’ve used them for breakfast sandwiches and hamburger buns. Yum!!! Easy to make. The grandkids loved rolling the dough to balls, boiling, and sprinkling. A new family favorite.
KC
I made these today and they were perfect. SO soft and fluffy with that slightly chewy salty crust. So pleased with how they turned out. I'm going to use them for some crispy chicken burgers but I've already eaten two on their own they're that good. So easy to make and I actually had a lot of fun with this one. Thank you so much, will definitely come back to this recipe again.
Glenn
Was absolutely perfect directions were great
Dottie
These are soooo good! They came out beautifully and taste even better! Great recipe
Terry
Turned out absolutely perfect, needed a sprinkle of water in mixer to make the dough right but that’s more to do with volumetric measure than weight but man first try these were 🔥🔥
Reagan
We always buy pretzel buns from the store, but these were way better! So easy and so so good! I made 6 buns instead of 8
suzy penner
I was so impressed by these they turned out even better than I thought.. I added chopped bacon and cheddar cheese. Wayyyy better than store bought!!
Diana
I make a lot of bread products and the family all voted this was the best! This recipe was easy to follow and as stated came out great!
Ami
Delicious and so easy! Great alone and great with burgers.
Sid
Just made this tonight a fancier burger buns. Turned out beautifully. The extras were devoured by the kids.