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Pretzel rolls are a great alternative bread to serve with any meal. So salty, so buttery, so yummy.
Bread is sort of my nemesis.
It’s so light, fluffy, and magical that I’m powerless to resist.
There is a certain way I make bread for dinner every few weeks and it includes an entire stick of butter to get it tasting just right. A whole stick!
I also sometimes make this outrageous garlic bread (excuse the photos – the bread is still delicious even if I didn’t know what the heck I was doing with a camera!) that blows my mind every time I take a bite. It’s so creamy and flavorful.
And then I make these. Pretzel rolls. They are absolutely perfect with a hot bowl of soup. Even better with this Corn and Chicken Chowder.
Oh, and sometimes? I stuff these pretzel rolls with cheese. Because I can. Nobody can stop me. Don’t even try. The cheese sorta explodes and hollows out the middle of the roll. It’s not super pretty but it is super delicious, so who cares? If you skip the cheese, these will be thick and chewy all the way through.
A great pretzel rolls recipe with or without the cheesy filling!
Pretzel rolls. Do I really even need to go on? They’re so chewy and the salt sprinkled on the outside makes me cry a little on the inside. The good cry. Until my pants stop zipping and then I switch over to the bad cry.
Pretzel Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk warmed
- 1 teaspoon quick-rising yeast
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 15 small cubes cheddar cheese optional
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- kosher salt for sprinkling
- boiling water
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
Instructions
- Add the milk, yeast and brown sugar into bowl of your stand mixer. Stir with your clean fingers until the sugar and yeast has dissolved. Let the mixture rest for 1 minute.
- Using the dough hook, turn the mixer to low and slowly add two cups of flour and salt to the wet ingredients.
- Slowly add the remaining flour until the dough has become smooth, the flour is incorporated and the dough pulls away from the sides. You may need to adjust the milk or flour to get the right consistency.
- Slowly increase the speed of the mixer until you reach the high setting. Continue to knead the dough in the mixer on this speed for approximately five minutes.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place - I usually place rising bread in my oven, but be sure the oven is turned off! Allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the baking soda.
- Lightly beat the egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Dump the dough on to your floured work surface and lightly pat it into the shape of a square. It should measure about 9” x 9” and be almost ¾” thick. Cut the dough into about 10 – 15 squares. If adding cheese, place a small cube of cheese in the center of each square and then shape the dough into a ball around the cheese. If you are not filling with cheese, just shape the dough into balls.
- Cut a small “X” on the top of each ball.
- Slowly drop the balls into the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Flip and cook for an additional 1 minute. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Make sure the “X” is facing up.
- Brush the top of each ball with the egg mixture and sprinkle kosher salt over them.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes. The baking time varies based on the size of the dough balls and the length of the boiling time. The tops will be golden brown and the interior will be chewy.
Nutrition Information:
recipe very lightly adapted from Culinary Cory
Tom says
Beer in the chicken, check! Beer in the cheese sauce, check!. But what about beer in the buns?
Don’t know if these ideas would work, but can the warm milk be replaced with warm beer? Or even boil the buns in beer instead of water?
Think about it for a minute.
Any ideas out there?
Let me know.
Thanks
Karly says
Hi Tom!
I definitely think you could replace some of the milk with beer. I don’t think I’d replace all of it, but half would probably be fine! Or try boiling them in some beer! That’d probably add a unique flavor! Very creative idea! 🙂
Leanna says
Super yummy .. I think in the last week hanging out with friends we made over 8 batches. Also we did smaller ones with cheese (about 24 in a batch). Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, its a keeper!
cherylK says
These look SO good I will definitely have to try them! Delish!
SabsDkPrncs says
I just made these and my husband and I are busy eating them all instead of dinner. I used velveeta in half and balls of cream cheese in the other half, and I froze the cheese before I made the balls, and there was very little leakage when baking. I added sesame seeds to the tops. Wonderful and surprisingly easy! Next time I will use more salt, garlic salt on the tops, and brush with butter instead of egg white (as per the hubby’s suggestion).
megan @ whatmegansmaking says
oh my goodness, I need these! They seriously look and sound amazing. I eat so much soup during the winter and pretzels rolls sound like a necessity.
Julie says
It’s just scary to think how many of these I could pop into my face!
brandi says
you had me already just at pretzel rolls. but stuffed with cheese? good gracious.
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
Bread makes me weak in the knees. Pretzel bread? I am all a-flutter!
Lauren says
Oh my word…I was just saying the other day that I wanted to make pretzels! It’s a sign…
what katie's baking says
these are the best idea!!
you don’t even have to dip them, that’s awesome!
Amanda says
Wow those look amazing! I think the recipe should say “Cheese cubes (mandatory)”.
natalie (the sweets life) says
I recently made pretzel rolls for the first time and they were (obviously) a huge hit. Stuffing with cheese though?! That I have GOT to try!
Jessica @ How Sweet says
you stuffed these with cheese?! good lord i love you.
Deborah says
I have no self control around bread. And I have always wanted to make pretzel rolls. And those ones stuffed with cheese? Yum!!
Jess Wakasugi {Life's Simple Measures} says
I made Soft Pretzel Bites a while back, absolutely loved them, but there was still a thing or two that needed to be tweaked. They’ve been on my mind ever since and your post has inspired me to take another crack at them! Especially during football season 😉 Your rolls look great, I’ll definitely be testing out this recipe!