These soft pretzel buns are a delicious homemade treat with every meal. In Germany you these rolls are regularly used for all kinds of savory sandwiches.

They are easy to make and so much better than the store bought versions.
How are pretzel buns called in German?
Pretzel rolls are called "Laugenbrötchen".
How to pronounce "Laugenbrötchen"?
Listen to this audio file to hear how to say "Laugenbrötchen" in German.
How to make German Pretzel Buns Video Tutorial
Authentic German Pretzel Rolls Recipe

German Pretzel Buns
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup + ⅓ cup warm water
- 5 tbsp. butter (melted)
- 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tsp. salt Kosher
- coarse salt to sprinkle on the rolls
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup baking soda
Instructions
- Add ⅓ cup of warm water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Mix to combine and let it sit for about 10 minutes until foamy.
- Melt butter in remaining warm water, add to the yeast mixture, and mix well.
- Mix salt with flour and add to the bowl 1 cup at a time.
- Knead until smooth dough forms.
- Cover the bowl with clean dish towel and let dough rise for 1 hour.
- Divide it into 10 equal pieces.
- Shape the pieces into smooth rolls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Cover the rolls with damp dish towel and let the rolls rest for about 20-30 minutes.
- Cover the rolls and let them rest for about 30 minutes or until they have doubled in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Fill a large pot ⅔ with water and heat to boiling.
- Once the water boils, add the baking soda slowly to the water.
- With a slotted spoon add 1 roll at a time into the water bath. Turn after 10 seconds for about 5 more seconds.
- If the roll does not float, leave in for 15 seconds total.
- Remove, place the rolls back on the baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the rolls.
- Use a sharp knife to make a shallow cut on the rolls in the shape of a cross.
- Sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake rolls for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.
Nutrition
Serving: 1grams
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
How to Serve Pretzel Buns?
Soft pretzel buns are for sandwiches or for burgers.
Mary says
Hi! These look really good, so of course I want to make them. Can I use maldons finishing salt for these? Or does it have to be coarse kosher?
Angela Schofield says
Hi Mary, Maldons finishing salt would be awesome on the buns. Guten Appetit!
Șerban says
Can u help me with recipe in grams?
Angela Schofield says
You can use this converter: https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cups-grams.php
Jennifer says
Step 9 needs to be moved to after step 16.
Angela Schofield says
Thanks for catching that, Jennifer. I adjusted the oopsie 🙂
Kevin says
Where in the recipe does it say show the part about "resting time: 20 HOURS"
Angela Schofield says
Thank you Kevin for mentioning this. We just changed to a new plugin and it messed up some parts of the recipe. I fixed it.
Sharyn says
Delicious rolls, but one suggestion: put the rolls on greased parchment after the water bath. All my rolls stuck and that beautiful crust came off when I peeled them off the parchment!
Angela Schofield says
I am sorry your buns stuck to the parchment paper. It never happened to me. I use the pre-cut sheets from Reynolds, perhaps that makes the difference.