Pretzel Rolls

Lie about it. That's the best advice I can give you. This has to be the fastest, easiest yeast bread one can make, or very close to it. I recommend tossing a towel over your shoulder, brushing a bit of flour on your cheek, perhaps even dabbing at your forehead with a washcloth. Take deep breaths that lead to long sighs, put your feet up, and pretend to be exhausted.

I don't know about you, but I'm seeing pretzel rolls everywhere. They're on billboards and TV, and I've even heard people talking about how they have to try them. So please don't let on that they're super easy to make or we'll all be hounded to bake them all the time.

Oktoberfest is upon us, so it seemed a great time to try out pretzel rolls. Why is it so easy? No rising! No kidding! I made the dough in my handy dandy KitchenAid mixer. Minutes later it was going into the oven. Unbelievable.

I based this recipe on a pretzel recipe I found on-line. I couldn't believe that the dough didn't have to rise, but a brief discussion with my German mother led to the inevitable -- we had to try it. She thought it might be authentic because German breads and pretzels don't rise as much as they do in America. I tweaked it a just bit, though, to suit our tastes.

Pretzel Rolls

1/3 cup warm water
1 package rapid rise dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 1/2 cups flour

8 - 10 tablespoons baking soda
8 - 10 cups water

Kosher salt

Install the dough hook on your mixer. Pour 1/3 cup warm water into the bowl of your mixer. Sprinkle with entire package of yeast.

Stir lightly with a fork. Wait about 10 minutes for it to dissolve.

Add 1 1/3 cups warm water, salt, and sugar and mix. Add the flour about a cup at a time, mixing after each addition. When the dough clings to the dough hook and the walls of the bowl are relatively clean, remove the dough.

Place the baking soda into the 8-10 cups of water in a large pot. Bring to a simmer. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place it near the pot.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400. Shape the dough into a log (sprinkle with a little flour if necessary to handle) and slice it into 8 equal pieces.

On each piece, take a cut side,

spread it a bit

and turn it inside out, bringing all the edges to the bottom.

 

Pinch them together. That's the bottom of the roll.

This is the top.

Using a pierced or slotted spoon, slide 2 or 3 of the rolls into the simmering water. Don't overcrowd them. After 30-40 seconds, flip them.

 After 30-40 seconds, remove from the water and place on the parchment paper. Cut an X on the top of each roll and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Repeat with remaining rolls.

Bake at 400 for 20-22 minutes. The rolls should be brown on the outside and baked through.

These are best the day they are baked. If you need to store them, do not refrigerate or place in an airtight container. Store at room temperature.