Homemade Soft Pretzel Hot Dog Buns
Let us show you how to make Jeff Mauro's Soft Pretzel Hot Dog Buns
Servings 8 buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast or 1 packet
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 grated garlic cloves optional
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 cup bread flour
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
For boiling the buns
- ½ cup baking soda
For adding before baking
- Pretzel salt or coarse ground sea salt, for sprinkling
- 1 egg yolk optional
Instructions
Making the Dough
- You start by warming up the milk with the sugar and honey. Not too hot, just to about 100-110 degrees or so it feels warm to the touch. You can do this in a pot or the microwave.
- Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a mixing bowl. Either do this by hand or with a stand mixer. When all the ingredients are well combined knead until the dough is elastic.
Forming the Buns
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces and then cut those pieces in half to get a total of 8 buns.
- Roll each piece into a ball and let it rest for about 15 minutes covered with a regular kitchen towel.
- Roll the balls into logs that are about 7 inches or so long. Place them onto a baking sheet. I highly recommend you cover the baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Cover them again and wait for 30 minutes.
Boiling the Buns
- Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. If you have a wide pot that would be best. Add the baking soda.
- Cook each soon to be pretzel 30 seconds on each side. A slotted spatula works best for flipping and removal. Cook them in batches. No more than 2 or 3 at a time.
- Add the pretzel salt when they come out of the water. This will help it to stick. You could also do an egg wash, that is 1 egg yolk with a little water added. I find this works better than just water alone and helps with browning.
- Cut three diagonal strips into each bun. I like to do this with a pair of kitchen shears. Just don't go too deep.
Baking the Buns
- Preheat to 425 degrees.
- Place the salted, boiled pretzel buns onto 2 separate sheet pans, so that they don't touch when baking.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes until golden brown. I advise rotating the pans between the top and bottom racks. This will insure that they all cook evenly. Do this about half way through the baking.
- Allow to cook on a cooling rack until ready to use.
Notes
Now these buns are going to be on the large side, which I like. But if you want them to be smaller, more of the traditional hot dog bun size you can try cutting then into 10 or 12 pieces instead
It will save you money if you buy yeast in bulk instead of the packets. You can store it in the freezer, so that it will last for a long time.