The most delicious homemade sourdough pretzel buns have a soft and fluffy interior with a deep brown exterior that tastes just like the soft pretzels you love. Perfect to serve as a side with soup or to use for sandwiches.
I often get asked how I do it all. Truth is, I don’t. I have a lot of help. But something that is really important to me is keeping up with homemaking, making our house a beautiful and comfortable place for our family to spend time together, and providing nourishing food made from scratch.
Whenever I find a little extra time, I try to pop something into the oven, set bone broth out to simmer on the stove, or get some sourdough bread dough going. There are a lot of people to feed in this house, and nothing ever goes to waste.
My family loves soft sourdough pretzels, so turning them into these delicious buns was a no brainer. Soft, chewy, and salty with that traditional pretzel flavor… so yummy.
I served them with a side of simple potato bacon soup. Everyone loved them, and basically licked their bowls clean.
Why you will love this recipe:
Delicious: They taste like a pretzel, but in a bun form.
Great side: They are a little easier than your traditional pretzel recipe and great to serve as a side with dinner or part of the main dish.
Perfect for sandwiches: Move over sandwich bread. Make your burgers and sandwiches fancier by introducing these homemade pretzels to your menu.
Tips:
- Make sure your starter is really bubbly and active before starting this recipe.
- Due to the nature of sourdough and baking, you may need to adjust the amount of water and/or flour. Your sourdough starter may have more hydration than mine. The environment also makes a difference.
- To make sure your pretzel buns are really soft and fluffy, when you are shaping the dough, make sure to add tension to the dough. This can be done by pulling the dough and folding it in on itself, rolling into a ball, and then using the countertop to turn and move the dough ball toward you to create tension. Or patting it flat, rolling it up (like a cinnamon roll) one direction, then turning it and rolling it up the other way, and then shaping it into a ball. There are many ways to do this.
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Ingredients:
Dough
Active sourdough starter: This is sourdough starter that has been fed 4-12 hours before starting the dough. It should be active and bubbly and pass the float test. This is when you take a small glass of water and add a dollop of sourdough starter. If it floats, it is ready to make these pretzel buns.
This recipe uses only the wild yeast in the sourdough starter to give the soft sourdough pretzel buns their rise – no commercial yeast required.
Water: Room temperature water
Sugar: Regular ol’ cane sugar
Butter: Unsalted and softened
Salt: Preferably sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
Unbleached all-purpose flour: You could also use bread flour.
Coarse salt for topping
Water Bath
Water
Baking soda: This gives the pretzel buns a really deep color and that classic pretzel flavor.
Tools you may need:
Measuring cups and spoon or kitchen scale
Bench scraper
Parchment paper
Large bowl
Slotted spoon
How To Make Sourdough Pretzel Buns:
Four to 12 hours before starting this recipe, feed the sourdough starter. It needs to be really active, bubbly, and able to pass the float test.
In a bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add the dough ingredients.
Mix on low speed (speed 1-2 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) until it forms a shiny dough ball that will pass the windowpane test, about 7-10 minutes. Take a small amount of dough and stretch it into a square. If you can stretch it and see through the dough without the dough breaking, it is ready to move on to the next stage.
Bulk ferment
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a lid, plastic wrap, or beeswax wraps. This prevents a not-so-nice crust from forming.
Allow it to bulk ferment for 8-12 hours or until doubled. If your house is on the colder side, it may take longer. It should just double in size.
Shaping
Divide into 10 equal pieces.
Shape the dough into round dough balls. I like to create tension in the dough by pulling the dough into the center and kind of folding it in.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a tea towel.
Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.
Boil And Bake
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Add 8 cups of water and baking soda to a large pot and bring to a boil.
Gently place each roll into the boiling water and boil for about 2 minutes. Flip and boil on the other side for another 2 minutes.
Transfer the boiled pretzel buns to the parchment lined baking sheet.
Score an X on top of each bun with a lame (a razor blade used in baking) or sharp knife and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Bake 20-25 minutes until achieving a deep golden brown color.
Allow to cool, then serve.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Baker’s Timeline:
This can be started or made at any time. I like to start doughs at night time so they can rise all night. In the morning, they are ready to shape, boil, and bake.
8 am – 12 pm: Feed sourdough starter with flour and water.
12pm – 8 pm: If the sourdough starter is mature, then proceed to creating the dough. This will depend on how mature your starter is and how warm your house is.
8:00 am (may be much sooner or later): Split the dough into 10 pieces of equal size with a dough scraper.
Shape dough.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a tea towel.
Allow it to double in size. This can take a few hours.
10 am (may be sooner or later): Preheat oven. Boil baking soda and water. Boil buns. Place back on the baking sheet, score the tops, add coarse salt, then bake.
FAQ:
What makes pretzel bread different from regular bread?
The main difference is that pretzel bread is boiled in a baking soda bath before baking which gives it that signature pretzel flavor, whereas regular yeast bread does not include this step.
What makes a pretzel bun taste like a pretzel?
Boiling the dough in a water bath with baking soda really gives it that unique flavor.
How do you know your sourdough starter is ready to bake with?
If your sourdough starter is active, bubbly, and doubles in size, it is ready. Another way to tell if a starter is ready is by doing the float test. Take a small cup filled with an inch or so of water. Add a small dollop of the starter to the water. If it floats, it is ready.
What goes well on pretzel buns?
Use them as hamburger buns, for your favorite sandwich toppings, or serve them as dinner rolls.
What’s the difference between a bagel and a pretzel bun?
The main difference is that bagels are more dense compared to pretzel buns, which are softer and fluffier. Both are boiled to achieve that exterior layer we’ve come to expect.
Find More Of My Favorite Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough Bagels
- Sourdough English Muffins
- The Best Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Homemade Sourdough Hot Dog Buns
- Sourdough Crumpets
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Pretzel Buns
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly (113 grams)
- 1 cup water, 236 grams
- 2 teaspoons sugar, 8 grams
- 1/4 cup butter, softened (57 grams)
- 2 teaspoons salt, 10 grams
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 420 grams
Water Bath
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup baking soda
Instructions
- Four to 12 hours before starting this recipe, feed the sourdough starter. It needs to be really active, bubbly, and able to pass the float test.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add the dough ingredients.
- Mix on low speed (speed 1-2 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) until it forms a shiny dough ball that will pass the windowpane test, about 7-10 minutes. Take a small amount of dough and stretch it into a square. If you can stretch it and see through the dough without the dough breaking, it is ready to move on to the next stage
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a lid, plastic wrap, or beeswax wraps.
- Allow it to bulk ferment for 8-12 hours or until doubled. If your house is on the colder side, it may take longer. It should just double in size.
- Divide into 10 equal pieces.
- Shape the dough into round dough balls. I like to create tension in the dough by pulling the dough into the center and kind of folding it in.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a tea towel.
- Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Add 8 cups of water and baking soda to a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Gently place each roll into the boiling water and boil for about 2 minutes. Flip and boil on the other side for another 2 minutes.
- Transfer the boiled pretzel buns to the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Score an X on top of each bun with a lame (a razor blade used in baking) or sharp knife and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until achieving a deep golden brown color.
- Allow to cool, then serve.
Notes
- Due to the nature of sourdough and baking, you may need to adjust the amount of water and/or flour. Your sourdough starter may have more hydration than mine. The environment also makes a difference.
- To make sure your pretzel buns are really soft and fluffy, when you are shaping the dough, make sure to add tension to the dough. This can be done by pulling the dough and folding it in on itself, rolling into a ball, and then using the countertop to turn and move the dough ball toward you to create tension. Or patting it flat, rolling it up (like a cinnamon roll) one direction, then turning it and rolling it up the other way, and then shaping it into a ball. There are many ways to do this.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello Lisa, I tried those pretzel buns for the first time and they turned out amazing! I will be making those buns a lot. They are so easy to make too. Thank you for the recipe!
That’s great! Thanks for sharing!
These are perfect! So light and soft! My family is obsessed with these rolls. They said it’s the best recipe I’ve made with the sourdough.
I made these and they came out great. The only difference is that instead of doing the baking soda bath, I boiled a cup of water with 2 heaping tablespoons of baking soda and brushed the tops of my buns on the baking sheet. Then I brushed with an egg wash (egg mixed with a tablespoon of water), and then sprinkled with Himalayan salt.
I don’t have good luck with pretzels in the baking soda bath. They come out too hard. I found the no-bath technique on another pretzel recipe, so I tried it. Super successful and I’ll be doing it from now on with any pretzel recipe.
I used these buns to make ham, bacon, egg, and beer cheese sandwiches. I also used discard in my scrambled eggs to make them fluffier. It was a big hit with my family for lunch!
Great idea! I’m going to try your method!
My husband said these buns are his absolute favorite bread he’s ever had and I’ve made dozens of sourdough recipes. I even made these buns twice in one week! They are that good! The second time I made them I could really taste the baking soda flavor on the buns but they were still delicious. I’m going to put less baking soda next time. Also when I boiled the buns both times it creates sooo many bubbles as if I were taking a bubble bath. Is that normal?
Yes, that is normal!
Wow that is great to hear! Yes that is totally normal.
I had to make a few adjustments in order for this recipe to be a success for me. The first time I made these, they were very bitter tasting and burnt. For the second attempt, I reduced the baking soda amount to 2 tbsp and baked at 425F for 15 min. They were perfect.
I could not get these to pass the window pane test, even adding an extra half cup flour. I was too scared to add more 🤣 Mixed for much longer than 10 minutes. Baking soon. We’ll see.
Love this! Perfect little treat to amp up burgers.
So glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
What moisture content is your starter for this recipe?
I usually feed my starter equal parts flour, water, and starter. So if I have one cup starter, I will feed it 1 cup water and 1 cup flour.
Is it possible to bulk ferment until evening and then put the dough in the refrigerator overnight and in the morning divide it into the 10 parts.
Yes. Depending on what time you start your ferment in the morning, you could put it in the fridge that night. Just pull it out and let it warm up so the buns have time to rise when you divide them.
Piggy backing off this question, to put them in the fridge, would you do any sort of pre-shaping or just put the fully proofed dough right into the fridge?
You can do either! It may work better to pre-shape them before putting them into the fridge.
What is the measured amount of Baking soda that you add too the 8 cups of boiling water?
1/2 cup of baking soda!