Artificial Food Coloring Free Classic Pretzel Rolls

Total time2 hr 5 min

Prep time30 min

Cook time20 min

Artificial Food Coloring Free Classic Pretzel Rolls

Chewy on the inside, deeply bronzed on the outside, and finished with a satisfying crunch of coarse salt — these pretzel rolls are the kind of baked good that makes people think you secretly trained at a bakery. Every bit of that gorgeous color and flavor comes from real, whole ingredients: flour, butter, yeast, and a clever baking soda boiling bath that does the heavy lifting. There are no dyes, no color additives, and no mystery enhancers hiding anywhere in this recipe — just the Maillard reaction and a hot oven doing their thing. That rich mahogany crust is entirely natural, which makes these a genuinely satisfying bake for anyone keeping a close eye on what goes into their food. The technique of baking the baking soda before adding it to the boiling bath is a small extra step that pays off enormously in depth of flavor and that signature pretzel chew. Serve them warm from the rack alongside soup, pile on sandwich fillings, or eat one plain with a little butter — they hold up beautifully either way.

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Ingredients

8 servings

For the dough

1 cup warm water (105–110°f / 40–43°c)
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast Original Signature SELECT Active Dry Yeast - 3-0.25 Oz Food Club Active Dry Yeast, Gluten Free Kroger Active Dry Yeast Fleischmann's - ACTIVE DRY YEAST 3PK
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1 tsp granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp fine salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

For the boiling bath

¼ cup baking soda
8 cups water
1 tbsp granulated sugar

For finishing

1 large egg
1 tbsp water
1–2 tbsp coarse pretzel salt or flaky sea salt

Instructions

1
Combine the warm water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand until the surface is foamy and the mixture smells yeasty, about 5–8 minutes. If the yeast does not foam, it is not active — start over with fresh yeast.
2
Add the flour, fine salt, and softened butter to the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until the flour is incorporated, then increase to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth, slightly tacky, and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl, about 6–8 minutes. The dough should spring back slowly when poked.

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