Quick Soft Pretzel Rolls

No mixer needed - just a spatula and a few simple ingredients to make these fun pretzel rolls!

Makes 8 large pretzel rolls.

Course Bread

Cuisine Snack

Keyword homemade pretzels, homemade soft pretzels, pretzel rolls, soft pretzel recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 374kcal

Author Melissa Rose

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

1 ½ cups warm water
4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast two (0.25 oz.) Packets
¼ cup salted butter (unsalted is fine, I just prefer the taste of salted for these)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
coarse kosher or pretzel salt for topping

Filling

2 tablespoons salted butter

Water Bath

2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda (not teaspoons!)

For Brushing & Dipping (Optional)

2 tablespoons salted butter
cheese sauce

Instructions

To Make Dough

In a medium-sized bowl or measuring cup, stir together warm water (1 ½ cups), active dry yeast (4 ½ teaspoons, i.e. (2) 0.25-ounce packets), light brown sugar (2 tablespoons), and melted salted butter (¼ cup, i.e. 4 tablespoons). You can get the warm water directly from the faucet - no need to heat it up more. Let sit for 5 minutes or until there's a layer of foam/bubbles on the top.
*See notes below if your mixture doesn't foam or bubble.
While the yeast is proofing, mix together the all-purpose flour (4 ½ cups) and salt (½ teaspoon) in a large bowl. Use your hand to create a crater in the middle of the bowl. This is where you'll pour the water mixture.
After the 5 minutes have passed, stir the foamy yeast mixture and pour it into the crater you created in the flour bowl.
Use a spatula to mix the dough until it's combined. Once all the flour is incorporated, use your hands to knead the dough into a solid ball. This should only take 1-2 minutes tops (any longer and you'll overwork the dough).
Place the dough ball back into the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a clean dish towel) and let sit for 10 minutes. This will allow the dough to rest & rise a tiny bit (it won't rise much, which is fine).
Place dough on a flour-covered surface (about ½ – 1 tablespoon flour). I prefer taping down a piece of parchment to my counter, but you can also roll directly on a clean countertop. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and on the rolling pin, then roll the dough until it is approximately a 14×18” rectangle that is ¼” thick.
Once rolled, spread on softened butter (2 tablespoons), making sure to spread to the outside edges.
Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 8 strips (cut them the long way), then roll each one into a spiral roll.

Water Bath

In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups warm water and 2 tablespoons (not teaspoons) of baking soda.
Dip each roll in the baking soda mixture for 1-2 seconds on each side, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt or pretzel salt.
Bake at 425℉ 12-14 minutes, or until tops or lightly golden brown. It's important not to underbake or the centers will be doughy.
After removing from the oven, use a pastry brush or spoon to brush warm pretzels with melted salted butter (2 tablespoons). This is what truly gives it that mall pretzel taste - don't skip the salted butter!
Where I normally use unsalted butter in baking, these need salted butter for dipping. Unsalted just doesn't taste as good here!
Enjoy warm with drizzled cheese sauce or honey mustard!

Notes

Yeast isnt foaming or bubbling? If your mixture doesn't foam or bubble after 10-20 minutes, your yeast is likely dead and you need to start over with fresh yeast.

Storing/Freezing: These are best fresh, but can also be stored in an airtight container or bag for 1-2 days. I will say that after 1-2 days, they lose their fresh taste & soft texture, but they're still edible.

If you do not plan to eat them right away, let them cool then freeze them in an airtight bag (for 1-2 months). To get them to taste the freshest again, pop them into the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes until they're heated through.

Nutrition is just an estimate and auto-calculated from a directory. Based on 12 pretzels and does not include dipping sauces.

Nutrition