Dear Eric: We love pretzel buns for burgers. I have made soft rope pretzels before and know about the water bath. When making pretzel buns, do they still get boiled in water before baking, or will they get soggy? Do you have a pretzel-bun recipe that uses whole-wheat flour?
Lyndsay
Dear Lyndsey: Whether making a more traditional pretzel, by forming dough into a twisted knot, or using that dough to make buns, both need to be dipped into a hot, alkaline water bath before being baked. If听you don鈥檛, the product won鈥檛 have the dark, rich crust one associates with a pretzel.
In a commercial bakery, the alkaline water bath will often be a solution of water and food-grade sodium hydroxide, also referred to as caustic soda or lye.
As highlighted in a previous story related to pretzel buns, it鈥檚 important to note that this is not the type of lye one would buy at a听hardware store and use for cleaning. Instead, manufacturers remove the impurities from the product, making it food-grade.
When the buns are formed and ready to bake, before they go in the oven, the baker will dip them for a few seconds in the lye solution. When doing so, it鈥檚 important to wear protective equipment, because when the sodium hydroxide is mixed with water, it causes a chemical reaction and a lot of heat. It鈥檚 that reaction that causes the buns to take on a pretzel鈥檚 trademark dark-brown crust when baked.
Recipes for making pretzel buns at home also ask you dip the buns in an alkaline water bath, but rather than food-grade lye, most recipes use baking soda instead. It鈥檚 widely available, won鈥檛 cause you any harm if some gets on you, and does a pretty good job of getting the exterior of the bun to听form the desired, dark-brown crust when baked.
Rather than just a few seconds in the alkaline water bath, when you are using baking soda instead of lye, the buns need to sit in the simmering mixture longer 鈥� one minute in the case of my recipe. But, just as when making bagels, which are boiled before being baked, only the outside of the buns absorb moisture, and it steams away in the hot oven.
Most pretzel-bun recipes use white flour. Lyndsay wanted hers to be whole wheat, though, but when I made mine with 100 per cent whole-wheat flour, they turned out stodgy, not pleasingly chewy. So, when I tested the buns again, I used half white flour and half whole-wheat flour. They turned out much better, having a听nice texture and more fibre than regular pretzel buns, thanks to the use of that whole-wheat flour.
Pretzel Buns
Use these salt-topped pretzel buns for hamburgers or to make bunwiches, filled with such things as ham and cheese. If eight buns are too many for you to use right away, freeze some to thaw later and enjoy.
听
Preparation: 45 minutes, plus rising time
Cooking time: 20 to 22 minutes
Makes: eight buns
听
1 1/2 cups 100 per cent whole-wheat flour (see Note)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp lukewarm (not hot) water
2 tsp active dry (traditional) instant yeast
1 large egg
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp melted butter
鈥� vegetable oil for the bowl
鈥� extra flour for kneading and shaping
8 cups water
1/4 cup baking soda
1 to 1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
Place the 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Combine the 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp water and yeast in a large bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let stand five minutes, or until the yeast softens and dissolves. Now mix in the egg, sugar and melted butter.
If using a stand mixer, add all of the mixed flour. Mix on medium speed until a smooth dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl, but is still a little sticky. (The dough needs to a be a little sticky to yield soft-in-the-centre buns.) Continue mixing and kneading the dough on medium speed five minutes.
If mixing the dough by hand, mix 2 1/2 cups of the mixed flour into the yeast mixture in your large bowl. Mix with a heavy spoon until the dough loosely clumps together. Transfer the dough to a work surface, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Use the remaining mixed flour to lightly flour the work surface and the top of the dough. Knead six to eight minutes, until a smooth dough is created.
Once it鈥檚 kneaded by machine or by hand, place the dough in a deep, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, about 75 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, gently deflate and divide it into eight equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Place the buns, spacing each about 3 inches apart, on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let rest 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 F. Also, make a water bath by placing the 8 cups water and 1/4 cup baking soda in a deep, 10-inch wide pot, whisking to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When the water is simmering, adjust the heat so that it remains simmering.
When the dough balls have rested 20 minutes, set them, two or three at a time, in the water bath. Cook for 30 seconds, flip over and cook for 30 seconds longer. Using a slotted spoon, return the buns to the baking sheet, domed side up, placing them 3 inches apart.
When all buns are out of the water bath and on the baking sheet, using kitchen scissors or a thin sharp knife, cut a 1/2-inch deep cross into the centre of each bun. Now sprinkle each bun with coarse sea salt.
Bake buns 20 to 22 minutes, or until a deep, dark brown. Set buns on a baking rack to cool, and they are ready to enjoy.
Note: If the flour you have at home has been sitting around awhile, it will likely have compacted. If that鈥檚 the case with yours, give it a good stir or whisk before measuring the amount needed for this recipe. Doing so will aerate the flour and make it more like it was when first purchased.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
