These slider sized pretzel buns are easy to make, full of traditional soft pretzel flavour, and make a great base for pretzel bun sliders!
This pretzel bun recipe makes soft pretzel rolls, that are perfectly sized to act as mini hamburger buns.
Sure, you can use regular sandwich buns to make whatever kind of slider you’d like, but the distinct flavor of pretzel buns REALLY elevates a good burger, IMHO.
This original recipe started out as an altered version of my Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Soft Pretzel Bites, just adapted into a delicious sandwich roll.
Not only are these great as a base for cheeseburger sliders, they really take many different sandwiches to a whole other level.
If you like smoky flavour, do up a batch of my Smoked Chicken Salad, or use some homemade Cold Smoked Mayo with your favourite deli meats.
If you’re not a purist, you can whip up a batch of Olive Salad and make a batch of bastardized Muffaletta Sandwich sliders.
(The bread is definitely not traditional for it, but still - it’s tasty!)
Ok with a bit of a mess? These make a fantastic base for Sloppy Joes!
... all great recipes, but only scratching the surface of the possibilities!
Let’s get to that recipe!
Ingredients
This pretzel slider buns recipe uses super simple ingredients - if you don’t already have them on hand, you can definitely find them in any grocery store.
A few notes for you:
Pretzel Dough Ingredients
This is a fairly traditional bagel dough recipe, needing only:
All purpose flour (You can use bread flour)
Light Brown Sugar
Active Dry Yeast
Unsalted Butter
Olive Oil (Or nonstick cooking spray)
Large Egg
Kosher salt
The Boil
Unlike my bagel recipes - which are generally boiled in sweetened water - pretzels are generally boiled in an alkaline solution.
For traditional pretzels, this usually involved water and lye, but I use a baking soda water bath.
Too many childhood memories of pioneer villages - and Lower Fort Garry - learning about soap making, to want to mess with lye.
Yes, I know it’s safe, yes, I know it’s an irrational fear. Oh well!
Anyway, the baking soda bath is what gives soft pretzels - or in this case, pretzel buns - the characteristic dark brown colour.
When baked goods brown in the oven, it’s because of the Maillard reaction, which is a chemical reaction between sugars and amino acids.
I’ll spare you the whole science lesson, but basically?
The baking soda solution = alkaline = speeds up the Maillard reaction = baked good gets much darker, much faster.
That’s a lot of words to say “if you want this to look at taste like pretzels, don’s skip the baking soda bath!”.
Coarse Salt
Here, we get into a bit of “do as I say, not as I do”.
I had a bit of bad luck when photographing this recipe, including burning the first batch.
Not when I made them - they turned out perfectly! - but when I forgot that I stored them in the oven, and preheated it for my next shoot.
Of COURSE that was before shooting them, AUGH!
So by my second batch, I was annoyed and a bit rattled, and determined for them to be perfect. I obsessed with getting the slashes exactly how I wanted them, and got them in the oven.
About 15 minutes later, I realized that I’d forgotten to salt the tops. OOF..
Anyway, Coarse Salt is a pretty standard topping for pretzels - and pretzel buns - and I definitely recommend doing it.
... I just forgot on this batch, and was NOT in the mood to make a 3rd batch that day!
How to Make Pretzel Slider Buns
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through with detailed instructions.
Make the Dough
Combine warm water (just warm, not hot water!) with brown sugar, stir until sugar is almost dissolved.
Add yeast, stirring until incorporated. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until foamy.
Pour in yeast mixture, stirring until well combined.
Alternately, you can “knead” the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. I’ll run it on low speed for 5-7 minutes or so.
Place dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil.
Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm place to let the dough rise for an hour or two, until doubled. (This is the first rise)
Assembly & Cooking
Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dump dough out onto a clean work surface, divide into into 24 equal portions.
If you don’t end up with equal pieces the first time around, you can take bits from larger pieces to add to smaller pieces, to even it out..
Allow dough balls to rise for another 10 minutes.
Add baking soda to the boiling water, stir until combined.
Gently stir as they boil, to ensure that the entire surface of each is in contact with the water at some point.
Use a slotted spoon remove the rolls from the water, allowing excess water to drip off before transferring each roll to a prepared baking sheet.
Whisk together eggs and water, brush this egg wash mixture across the top of each roll.
You want the cut to be really shallow, basically only cutting through the cooked “skin” that formed when boiling.
Note: I completely forgot the salt on this batch! Do as I say, not as I do!
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.
Serving
Allow pretzel buns to cool to room temperature before cutting and using.
Leftover buns can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge until use.
Best reheated before serving - A microwave is fine, an air fryer will make them taste almost fresh from the oven again.
More “Capital B” Baking Recipes
Does the smell of yeast proofing just make you happy? Oh, I love the smell of it.
Anyway, if you’re looking for more excuses to bake something that involves waiting for rise times, here are a few more recipes for yeast breads ad related items!
Apple Cinnamon Buns
Basil, Roasted Red Pepper, & Asiago Bread Braid
Beer Pretzels & Jalapeno Jack Dip
Buffalo Chicken Buns
Chai Cinnamon Rolls
How to Make Bagels
Homemade Mini Bagels
Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzel Bites
Maple Walnut Spiced Pumpkin Buns
Marble Rye Bagels
Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
Persians Recipe
Reuben Buns
Rye Bagels with Caraway Seeds
Sauerkraut Balls - Pyrizhky
Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels
Smoky Cheese Bagels
Spinach Hand Pies
Strawberry Orange Rolls
Za'atar Manakish (With Cheese!)
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!
Mini Pretzel Buns [Pretzel Slider Buns]
Equipment
- 2 Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 ½ cups Warm - not hot - water
- ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 package Active Dry Yeast About 2 ¼ tsp
- 5 cups All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 4 oz Unsalted Butter Melted
- Olive Oil
Assembly
- 3 quarts Water
- ¾ cup Baking Soda
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 tablespoon Cold Water
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Combine warm water with brown sugar, stir until sugar is almost dissolved. Add yeast, stirring until incorporated. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until foamy.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add melted butter, stirring until well distributed. Pour in yeast mixture, stirring until well combined.
- Turn dough out onto a clean surface, knead for a couple of minutes. Dough should be soft and smooth.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large, clean metal or glass bowl.
- Add freshly kneaded dough to the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm spot to rise for an hour or two, until doubled.
Assembly & Cooking
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide dough into 24 evenly sized portions. Roll each dough portion into a tight ball, placing each on a prepared pan - 12 each. Allow to rise for another 10 minutes.
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add baking soda, stir until combined.
- Boil the rolls, about 5 at a time, for about a minute.
- Gently stir as they boil, to ensure that the entire surface of each is in contact with the water at some point.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer each roll to prepared baking sheets
- Whisk together eggs and water, brush this mixture across the tops of the buns.
- Use a sharp knife to gently slash an “X” - or 2 very shallow slashes - into the top of each bun, then generously sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.
Nutrition
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