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.
Can I use gluten free sour dough starter and gluten free flour?
Yes.
Im trying to figure out the timing of these…after you separate them into balls and shape them, how long does it usually take for them to double for you? Thanks!
A few hours. Depends on the warmth and humidity in your kitchen.
Does it really need 8hrs-12hrs? Im scared to leave for that long as mine is rising pretty fast after 2hrs.
Yes. Keep a close eye on it. It will probably be closer to the 8 hour time.
How would you recommend freezing and thawing these for later use?
I would just bake them and put them into a ziplock bag and freeze. You can pull them out and thaw on your counter and then toast them in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Can this be done without a stand mixer? I just don’t have room for one yet!
Yes, it just takes a bit longer to knead by hand!
Can I place them in a warm spot to speed up the rising? I want to make these for tonight?
Sure.
These are so good. The first time I made them, the rolls stuck to the parchment paper, making it so hard to keep them formed before boiling. The second time I put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes before boiling, like my pretzel re Joe calls for. They were perfect.
That is a great tip! Thanks for sharing.
Are these big enough to act as a bread bowl?
They could be a smaller bread bowl, definitely!
I’ve tried these twice and I just can’t get this recipe to work for me. The first time they tasted like metal. Too much baking soda in the bath and the second time I couldn’t get the dough to pass the windowpane test. Maybe too much flower? I’m going to try one more time with a cup less of flower and less baking soda and see how they turn out. I’m super excited to get this recipe to work for me seeing as how I absolutely love pretzels.
It could be too much flour. I definitely like to hold off on that last cup of flour and go by consistency.
Absolutely delicious!