Cinnamon Free Classic Pretzel Rolls
Chewy on the inside, deeply bronzed and crackling on the outside, these pretzel rolls deliver everything you want from a classic bakery-style bread. The secret is a two-part technique: baking the baking soda before it ever hits the water bath, which intensifies that signature pretzel flavor and helps the crust develop that gorgeous mahogany color. Each roll gets a quick dip in the simmering alkaline bath, an egg wash, a generous shower of coarse salt, and then hits a screaming-hot oven — the result is genuinely hard to beat fresh out of the oven. For anyone navigating a sensitivity to cinnamon, these are a breath of fresh air in the world of specialty breads, since so many store-bought rolls and artisan loaves sneak warm spices into the mix. Here, the ingredient list is clean and straightforward — flour, yeast, butter, salt, and a handful of pantry staples — so there's nothing hidden to worry about. They're incredible alongside soup, stuffed with deli meat, or honestly just torn apart and eaten warm with a little extra butter. Once you make them at home, it's genuinely difficult to go back to anything else.
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Learn more →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)
- 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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