Pretzel Slider Buns with Caraway Seeds

July 8, 2013
Food,Recipes

There are some food trends that I can totally get on board with. Pretzel burger buns is one of them. As a salt addict, I’ve always loved pretzels with their big flecks of salt and chewy dough. This recipe is a riff on an incredible German pretzel recipe by Hans Röckenwagner, owner of one of my favorite bakeries in Santa Monica. Traditionally, pretzels are soaked in a lye solution before they’re baked, but I wasn’t too keen on bringing corrosive chemicals and wearing safety goggles in making these pretzel buns. Luckily, you can substitute the lye solution with baking soda and water. I also love the addition of caraway seeds on pretzels!

pretzel bun sliders

Ingredients:

  • 3 3/4 cups of bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 1/2 cups of warm water
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 quarts of water (for boiling)
  • 1/2 cup of baking soda
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Coarse salt or pretzel salt
  • 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds

pretzel bun sliders 1

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, warm water, butter, and salt and stir until combined. Then add the flour. Fitted with the dough hook, start kneading on slow speed until most of the flour is absorbed and then turn up to medium. Mix until the the dough is evenly moistened, about 2 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic around the hook, about 8 more minutes.

Transfer the dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 5 minutes. Cut dough into 14 even pieces and roll each into a small ball. Arrange the buns onto 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Let stand uncovered in a warm place for 45 minutes or until slightly risen. Transfer uncovered into a refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

pretzel bun sliders

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Boil 2 quarts of water and once boiling add the baking soda. Boil the buns for 30 seconds on each side in batches of about 4. Remove with a slotted spoon and place back on the baking sheet with parchment paper.

pretzel bun sliders 2

Brush each bun with the egg wash on all sides and then sprinkle with coarse salt and caraway seeds.

pretzel bun sliders 3

Score a cross on the buns with a sharp knife. Bake the buns for 17 minutes, rotating them halfway.

pretzel bun sliders 4

The buns should be nicely browned and hallow sounding when you tap the bottom of the bun.

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Let them cool entirely on a new sheet of parchment paper before slicing in half and using them for sliders.

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After the buns have cooled, fire up the grill and make some sliders. I made mine simply with 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef lightly seasoned with salt. Form the patties a little larger than the diameter of the buns because they shrink slightly on the grill. Over a medium high flame, cook the patties about 3 minutes on one side and then flip. Cook the other side  for about 4 minutes for medium rare, topping the patty with your favorite cheese and close the lid. For medium cook about 5-6 minutes on the second side.

pretzel bun sliders 6

I love the combination of pretzels and mustard so I topped my burger with grainy mustard and a little mayonnaise. But any burger topping would be fantastic on these!

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I also added arugula and thinly sliced red onion.

 pretzel slider buns 9

pretzel slider buns

Serve right away and prepare for these bad boys to be gone in two seconds!

pretzel slider buns

Honestly, they’re YUM!

pretzel slider buns

(images by HonestlyYUM)

Conversation

Love pretzels, these look delicious I will defiantly be making these this summer!

Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been running a blog for?
you make running a blog look easy. The entire glance of
your web site is excellent, let alone the content material!

Hello!
I’d really like to make these for a group of 30 – how many little buns does this recipe make (more or less)?

I’ve made the buns twice now and they are so yummy! I just can’t seem to get mine uniform like yours. Any tips? The second time I even tried to form the dough in to a Square and then divide them evenly from there and I still ended up with odd sizes, even before baking.

Delicious! We didn’t feel like burgers for supper, so I made roast beef sandwiches on these, with horseradish mayo, tomatoes, and a little baby romaine. Heavenly!

These look so fantastic! I remember when I was TL for Whole Foods and we started selling Rockenwagner products, they sold like crazy!

They’re in the oven… can’t wait to see how this goes! My favorite little town downtown cafe has a burger on a pretzel bun that’s been my ‘go to’ favorite burger when out to eat. I’ll be truly excited to find a great version of it.

These sliders look insane. I’m such a sucker for pretzel buns.
These are so cute and great for a party. Next time I have people over I’m going to attempt these sliders.
Thanks for sharing.
xo Quinn

Quinn Cooper Style

I love this recipe! I can’t seem to go to the grocery store these days to find buns without high fructose corn syrup, let alone a thousand other unpronounceable ingredients. I’ve never felt like I’ve had another option, and always end up reluctantly buying a pack. This recipe looks like a perfect substitution and easy enough to do, I’m super excited to try them out!

It’s time for breakfast and I’m already wishing I was eating lunch and these beauties were on a plate in front of me! My mouth is salivating. Awesome buns!

Love this! I could eat my weight in these, with a cold drink in hand. Yummmmmm.

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