Nitrate & Nitrite Free Classic Pretzel Rolls
Chewy on the outside, pillowy in the middle, and finished with a satisfying crunch of coarse salt — these pretzel rolls deliver everything you love about a classic soft pretzel in a handheld roll format. The ingredient list is refreshingly straightforward: flour, butter, yeast, and a clever baking soda boiling bath that creates that signature deep-brown crust and tangy pretzel flavor without any cured meats, processed additives, or preservatives to worry about. That baking soda bath is genuinely the secret weapon here — baking the soda first intensifies its alkalinity, giving you a richer color and more complex flavor than a standard boil alone. Every component is something you likely already have in your pantry, which means you stay in full control of what goes into your food. The egg wash brushed on just before baking gives each roll a glossy, bakery-worthy finish that makes them almost too pretty to eat. Serve them warm alongside soup, pile on sandwich fillings, or just tear one apart with a little butter — they're the kind of roll that disappears fast no matter how you serve them.
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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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