Salted Pretzel Buns Recipes

SALTED CARAMEL PRETZEL BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• For the bread pudding: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.
• Scatter the bread cubes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the melted butter and toss to coat. Bake, stirring halfway through, until the bread is golden brown and crunchy, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, follow the package directions for microwaving and salting the pretzels (don't use all the salt). Quarter each pretzel.
• Whisk together the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, whole eggs and yolks in a medium bowl.
• Scatter the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Top with the pretzel pieces (turning some over to show off the nicely browned bottoms) and then nestle in the caramel candy halves. Pour the custard over the mixture. Cover with foil and set aside at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Bake until the bread pudding is set with a slight jiggle in the center, 45 to 55 minutes. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.
• For the caramel sauce: Meanwhile, combine the caramels, butter and cream in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, stirring halfway through, until the caramels and butter melt together, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth and thick. (The caramel sauce can be made ahead of time and then reheated to loosen up for serving.)
• Drizzle the bread pudding with the caramel sauce and sprinkle with some pretzel salt before serving.

PRETZEL CHALLAH BUNS

Steps:

• For the challah buns: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Whisk to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the warm water, oil and eggs. Beat to mix and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir to form a dough. Knead either in the stand mixer or by hand on a floured surface, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking, until smooth and just slightly sticky, 7 to 10 minutes. Grease the inside of a large clean bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours.
• For the baking soda bath: While the dough is rising, bake the baking soda. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Spread the baking soda out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Let it cool and set it aside (even though the baked baking soda isn't as strong as lye, it could potentially irritate your skin, so avoid touching it once it's out of the oven).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Split the dough into 8 equal portions and keep it covered when you're not working with it. Working with one piece of dough at a time, stretch it into a ball by tucking the top surface under and pinching to seal, then place it on a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining dough pieces, placing them 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 20 more minutes.
• Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
• Place the baked baking soda in a large bowl or casserole dish and add 2 cups (472 grams) of water. Stir it to dissolve the baking soda. (I've never been able to get all of it to dissolve, so a few baking soda chunks are totally ok as long as they don't stick to the dough.)
• For the topping: Using gloved hands or tongs and working in batches, immerse the rolls in the baking soda bath for about 2 minutes on both sides. Pat them dry with a paper towel and place them back on the baking sheet. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse pretzel salt. Cut 2 shallow slits in an X shape on top and bake until golden brown; begin checking for doneness at 16 minutes.

PRETZEL BUNS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar over 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
• Add milk, shortening, eggs, oil, 3 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Blend with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Mix in remaining 3 cups of flour by hand, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Uncover the dough and punch it down.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pull off baseball size portions of dough and roll into "snakes" about 6 inches long. Roll each "snake" into a spiral to give the tops some texture. Set each formed bun aside.
• Mix the baking soda and 4 cups hot water in a bowl. The baking soda does not need to dissolve completely. Dip each bun in the baking soda solution before placing on a baking sheet. Brush each bun with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven until brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack or brown paper bag.

SALTED PRETZEL BROWNIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of excess on each side to help you lift the cooked brownies out of the pan.
• Make the crust: In a food processor, combine butter, graham cracker crumbs, crushed pretzels and egg white. Process until mixture is well blended. Transfer to prepared pan and press crumb mixture into an even layer on the bottom. Bake until deeply browned at the edges, about 14 to 17 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.
• Make the brownies: Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Put butter and chocolate into a medium pot and place it over low heat. Melt the mixture, taking care not to let the chocolate burn and stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Scrape chocolate mixture into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Let mixture cool until it's just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk eggs into cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Mix in chocolate chips, if using.
• Scrape batter into an even layer on top of the crust. Top with pretzels and bake until the top is set and firm to touch, especially in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• Put the flour, yeast, sugar and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl and mix together to combine. In a large jug, mix together 300ml lukewarm water and the butter. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the water, mixing together to form a rough dough.
• Tip out onto a floured work surface and knead for 10-15 mins or until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and set aside until doubled in size, about 1hr.
• Once risen, knock out the air bubbles in the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a long rope about 60cm long.
• To form into pretzels, lay the rope in a U-shape with the curve pointing towards you. Take the two ends and cross them over.
• Take the ends, lift them backwards and press them into the curve of the U-shape. Repeat with the remaining dough. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Carefully place the pretzels on a baking tray lined with parchment and lightly greased with oil. Cover lightly with oiled cling film. Set aside for about 20 mins until puffy (not fully risen like bread dough).
• Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water, bring to the boil, add the baked bicarbonate of soda, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. One at a time, carefully lift the pretzels into the pan and cook for 20 secs per side. The pretzels will rise to the surface; flip with a slotted spoon.
• Use the spoon to gently lift the pretzels from the pan and return them to the baking tray. Once they have all been cooked in the water, lightly brush with the egg and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
• Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins or until a rich, dark brown. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Best served on the day made but can be frozen for up to 1 month.

SALTED CARAMEL PRETZEL ROLL BITE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
• Arrange Snack Factory® Pretzel Crisps® on prepared baking sheet.
• Cut each of the 8 caramel rolls into 4 equal pieces. Top each Pretzel Crisp® with 1 piece of the roll.
• Bake in preheated oven until light golden in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes.
• Top with a teaspoon of the caramel frosting and a sprinkle of sea salt.