#PRETZEL BUNS SKIN#

Using the tip of a sharp knife, score a cross on top of each roll, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Transfer the rolls the parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining buns. When you remove the buns from the water, make sure to drain thoroughly through the slotted spoon. Flip them both over and cook for another 30 seconds, being careful to not let them stick to each other.

With a slotted spoon, gently slip 2 rolls into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the baking soda carefully – it will foam up a bit.

In a large pot wide enough to fit 2 rolls at once, bring the 4 cups of cold water to a boil.

Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Place the roll on the parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough. This creates surface tension and prevents the rolls from deflating and becoming flat. Roll the dough on the counter under your cupped hand until the top is round and firm and you can feel the tension increasing against your hand, about 10 seconds.

Dust your hands with flour, take one portion of dough shape by stretching the sides down and into the bottom center.

Divide the dough into 10 equal portions (about 85 grams each).

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, take it out of the bowl, and knead it for about 30 seconds.

Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place until double in size, about one hour.

If you are making the dough by hand without a stand mixer, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until you have a smooth and elastic ball of dough, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the butter/water mixture to the flour mixture and mix for about 4 minutes.In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the 300mL warm water and the butter.In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, and salt for about 30 seconds, until well combined.Can you tell the difference? Probably not! The moral of the story is…diastatic malt powder gives your dough a boost but is not absolutely necessary. Your pretzel buns will be INCREDIBLE!įYI – some of the photos in this post have buns WITH diastatic malt powder and some photos WITHOUT it. So if you don’t want to buy malt powder or don’t have the patience to wait, make this recipe without. The texture and flavor are already incredible and the egg wash will give you a beautifully browned crust. Yes, you can absolutely be successful with this recipe without the diastatic malt powder! There is enough yeast in this recipe to raise the dough. I buy it from amazon and a bag lasts for quite a long time since you only need a teaspoon or two for most recipes. Here is the link to the brand that I use. These benefits are huge and I use diastatic malt powder in a lot of my bread recipes, especially those that have a very slow rise ie sourdough, baguettes, etc.īut, if you don’t have diastatic malt powder, you have two options. Basically, It helps to improve the dough texture, volume, and flavor while also increasing the golden-brown crust. The extra sugar helps to promote browning through caramelization, which might otherwise be lacking in a slowly processed dough and/or sourdough. This allows more of the starches to be broken down into sugars that the yeast can use as food. There is one ingredient in this recipe that you may not have on hand – Diastatic Malt Powder.ĭiastatic Malt powder is made from barley grain and is used to increase enzymatic activity in bread dough. Luckily, it is simple and only takes a minute or two! What is Diastatic Malt Powder?

This step simply must not be skipped, whether you are making pretzel buns, knots, bites or traditional twisted pretzels. This will give the pretzels their signature flavor and dark brown crust. Simply boiling water and baking soda together creates a high-pH bath that simulates the effects of lye. Luckily, there is a simple method that replaces the lye bath and you already have it in the cabinet. That’s a lot of danger and I prefer to steer clear of it!

#PRETZEL BUNS SKIN#

Lye needs to be handled with EXTREME care as it can cause burns to any skin it touches as well as being dangerous to inhale or even get the fumes into your eyes. This is what gives the pretzels that deep, dark crust and signature pretzel flavor.Ĭommercial bakeries use lye instead of baking soda. This recipe uses a baking soda bath to boil the pretzels just before baking.

Pretzel buns