How To: Pretzel Buns
Beautifully fluffy white bread on the inside, crunchy & crusty outside, sprinkled with the much needed coarse sea salt. That’s my favourite kind of bun summed up in a sentence. Pretzel buns aren’t so much of a big thing in the UK in comparison to places like the US, which is pretty sad on my part, because burgers are just crap in a flat soft bap.
My belief is, if you’re going to make bread, just go the whole hog. Stop thinking about making it wholewheat and healthy, because you know deep down that it’s not going to taste half as good. Since you’re making it yourself, you’re not going to be putting a load of sugar and preservatives in – so in theory it’s the healthiest white bread you could possibly eat! Unfortunately, these bad boys are anything but gluten free. My GF bread attempts have been terrible in the past, and I just NEEDED a good outcome from these on the day of experimenting, because I just NEEDED a good burger. I think that’s fair. Sorry to not include everyone in this recipe, but you can find plenty more gluten-free recipes to try on my blog instead!
Bread is an art, but that doesn’t mean it has to be complex. When you’ve got a recipe written out in front of you, there is little leeway to go wrong (just don’t go off piece like I always do, it generally doesn’t work out).
Why should you bother? Granted, you could go into the store and get yourself a pretzel bun and be done with it. Making it yourself is much more than that. It’s the satisfaction of biting into something you have made that is guaranteed to be better quality than the supermarkets. You’ve produced these fresh, crunchy buns that have yet to loose their crispness and you’ve made that magic from scratch – be proud! Trust me, things taste much better when you make them yourself.
For a perfect filling to these pretzel buns, try my new Tarka Dhal Sloppy Joes, which can be found on my newly released FREE eBook ‘Asian Inspired Vegan.’ Sign up to the mailing list to receive yours today! Here they are in action …
Give them a go and tell ,e what you think. Good luck!
- 1½ cup warm water
- 1 (7g) packet of instant yeast
- 1 tbsp. vegan margarine
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 3 cups plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
- ¾ - 1 cup strong white bread flour
- 7 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda
- 3 tbsp. vegan margarine
- Coarse Pink Himalayan Salt
- Whisk the warm water and yeast together in a large bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, melt the tbsp. of butter and whisk in the sugar and the salt. Pour into the yeast mixture.
- Slowly mix the plain flour, 1 cup at a time with a wooden spoon. Add ¾ cup of strong white bread flour, stir again. If the dough is still sticky add another ¼ cup to ⅓ cup. The dough should bounce back if poke with a finger.
- Knead your dough on a lightly floured surface for 3-5 minutes and form into a ball. place in a lightly oiled bowl cover with a kitchen cloth or cling film and place in a warm place for 1 hour*.
- Once doubled in size, punch down in the bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a sharp knife to cut into 9-10 equal pieces. Shape into balls.
- Pre heat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and line 2 baking sheets.
- In a large pot, bring the 7 cups of water and ⅓ cup baking soda to a boil. Drop 2 dough balls in the boiling water at a time for 20-30 seconds, then with a slotted spoon let the excess water drip off and place on the baking sheets with a few inches apart. Repeat.
- With a sharp knife, score an X on the top of each bun. Melt the margarine from your glaze and brush each bun with it. Sprinkle over the salt.
- Place in the oven for 23-26 minutes until a deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Serve warm or keep in an airtight container. Use within 2 days. They can also be frozen.
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