Pretzel Slider Buns

5 from 2 votes

Mini Pretzel Slider buns dunked in boiling baking soda solution and baked for 10 minutes. Great with a burger, pulled pork, or as a roll on the side of dinner.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time20

Total Time1 50

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: slider buns

Calories: 135kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

Ingredients

Pretzel Slider Dough

1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 package yeast
2 tsps salt
2 ½ cups all-purpose or bread flour

Boiling Solution

12 cups water
¾ cup baking soda

Egg Wash

1 egg white
1 teaspoon water

Instructions

Warm the milk, butter, and brown sugar in a bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds up to 1 minute. The butter will not have fully melted, but the milk should be warm, not hot, to the touch. If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast.
Add the yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Add the salt and flour, and combine into a ball. If needed slowly add more flour until the dough becomes a soft ball (1-2 tablespoons). Knead the dough on a clean lightly floured surface for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Shape the dough into a round ball and place it in a large bowl. Coat in a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the dough from drying out. Place a kitchen towel over the bowl and let rise for 1-1 ½ hours or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball, with any seams facing downwards.
Fill a large pot with 12 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the baking soda.
Add each bun to the pot, about four at a time for 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon flip each bun over and let boil for another 30 seconds for 1 minute total. Remove to a drying rack.
Place the buns on a baking sheet. Brush each bun with the egg wash.
With a sharp knife make a diagonal cut through the top of each ball of dough about ¼ inch deep. It is important to make a good slice through the top of each bun to ensure that the egg wash does not keep the sliced sides stuck together. The slice in the bun enables the dough to rise upwards, rather than outwards giving you a nice round tall slider bun.
Bake for 10 minutes until the tops become a deep golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Multiple Batches: I’d recommend doubling or tripling the batch. They are that good. Also, if you don’t finish them you can pop them in a large plastic bag in the freezer. Then if you’re ever in a bind about what to have for lunch or dinner you can warm them up and serve them with whatever you’re having.
Milk: It is important that the milk is warm, but not hot. If it is too hot it will kill the yeast.
Dough Rise: Do not allow the dough to rise for much longer than 1 hour or the milk in the dough will go sour.
Scoring the Buns: I have found that because these rolls are small, it's best to score the top once in a diagonal, rather than create an X shape on the top. If trying to create the perfect "X", the pressure on the dough collapses some of the air in it and creates a flatter bun. So unless you have very steady hands and a bread lame, a single slash is best.

Nutrition