Laugenstangen
German Soft Pretzel Rolls
Learn how to make German soft pretzel rolls. You can form them into several shapes and they are especially good topped with cheese. They are much better than store bought and will cost you only a few cents. There is a little bit of work involved but it makes a great family activity. Even little hands can work with this dough easily.
German Pretzel Pastries
Ingredients
- 8 cups bread flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/8 cups milk
- 10 tbsp. butter
- 1 tbsp. instant yeast
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 cup baking soda
For the topping (optional)
- coarse salt
- shredded cheese optional
- bacon or ham bits optional
Instructions
- Cut butter into slices.
- Bring water to a boil, add cold milk and butter.
- Stir to melt butter in the liquid.
- Add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to a bowl and blend.
- Add liquid to the bowl and knead for about 5 min. to a smooth dough.
- Cover with a kitchen towel and let raise for about 45 min. or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Add the dough to a lightly floured countertop and knead briefly.
- Divide the dough into 20 pieces.
- Flatten every piece and roll it up.
- In the meantime, preheat oven to 320 Fahrenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Bring water to a boil and add baking soda. Be careful, as it will foam up.
- With a slotted spoon add 2 or 3 rolls at a time into the water bath. Turn after 10 seconds for about 10 more seconds.
- Remove the rolls from the water, allow excess water to drip off and place them on the prepared baking sheets.
- With a sharp knife score a slit into the top of each pretzel piece.
- Sprinkle with cheese and/or salt.
- Bake at 320 Fahrenheit for about 25 min. or until golden brown.
Notes
The rolls keep up to 3 days, stored at room temperature, covered with a clean kitchen towel.
