One of my favorite types of buns to make is Bavarian Pretzel Buns. The dough is made in the automatic bread machine, and the buns are cut into strips and each strip is tied into a knot, which resembles pretzels. Most mainstream recipes call for dipping the unbaked pretzel rolls in a mixture of baking soda and water. This mixture doesn’t give the pretzels the traditional shiny brown surface or texture. The only way to get the real German shine and texture is to use food grade lye, which is available online. If you opt to use a baking soda mixture, you will be disappointed, because your rolls will be terrible.

These buns can be sprinkled with very coarse salt like authentic German pretzels, but I usually leave it off to make the sandwiches less salty.

12 Servings

Dough:
1 1/2 cups water
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup rye flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons diastatic malt powder
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon yeast

4 cups cool tap water
2 tablespoons food grade lye (Sodium Hydroxide)

1. Place the dough ingredients in the order given into the pan of an automatic bread machine. Set the machine to the dough setting, and let run 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, check to make sure the ingredients have formed a soft ball; if it is too soft, add a little more flour; if it is too stiff, add more water and start the cycle over.
2. When the cycle has run, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/2" thick rectangle and, with a pizza cutter, cut into 12 strips. Tie each strip into a knot placing the ends underneath.
3. Place the cool tap water and the lye in a glass bowl; stir to dissolve the lye. It's a good idea to wear plastic gloves when working with lye, and since it ruins wood surfaces, place the bowl on a towel on a non-wood surface.
   Place the rolls in the lye mixture and let them sit for 30 seconds on each side.
4. With a slotted spoon (non-metal), remove them from the mixture, shake off any liquid and place on a baking sheet lined with silicone sheets sprayed liberally with non-stick spray, or if silicone liners aren't available, a baking sheet that has been sprayed liberally with non-stick spray (they stick to parchment).
5. Let them rise while the oven heats to 400°. When the oven has heated, bake 12-15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Amount Per Roll
Calories 164 Calories from Fat 29
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 18% Protein 10% Carb. 72%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 3 g
Saturated Fat 2 g
Cholesterol 8 mg
Sodium 612 mg
Total Carbohydrate 30 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 4 g

Vitamin A 2% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 3%