These sourdough pretzel buns are easy to make using a standard sourdough pretzel dough. They’re a wonderful balance of salty and chewy and make fantastic hamburger buns.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make These Sourdough Pretzel Buns
- Bread Flour: The higher protein content in bread flour gives these pretzel buns a chewier texture than all-purpose flour. Any type of white bread flour should work if it has around 13% protein content. For this particular recipe, I used the King Arthur brand of bread flour in the blue bag.
- Water: Plain, unchlorinater tap water is best. Use filtered water or bottled spring water if your city’s tap water contains harsh ingredients or has a bad taste. You’ll use water both for the pretzel dough and for making a baking soda solution to soak the sourdough pretzel buns in right before baking.
- Sourdough Starter: I used my regular sourdough starter for this recipe that I fed with bread flour. You can use almost any type of sourdough starter as long as it is 100% hydration (equal parts flour and water by weight).
- Butter, softened: You’ll need just two tablespoons of softened butter for this recipe. I used salted butter, because that’s what I usually have on hand, but you could also use unsalted butter if you want to. Since this recipe calls for a relatively small amount of butter, the small amount of salt that salted butter contains won’t negatively effect the recipe.
- Salt: I used Kosher salt in this recipe. You can use any sea salt, plain table salt, or kosher salt and it will work just fine.
- Baking Soda: You will use baking soda (not baking powder) and water to create a baking soda solution (you’ll dip your sourdough pretzel buns into this solution before baking them). This will cause the pretzel buns to turn dark brown in the oven. Traditional pretzel recipes use a solution made with food-grade lye, but lye is not common in many home kitchens and it can be dangerous to use if you aren’t familiar with it, so I prefer to use a baking soda solution for most pretzel and bun recipes like this one.
Note: See recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Using oil instead of butter: You can use 28 grams (2 Tbsp) of olive oil or vegetable oil in place of the 28 grams of butter called for in this recipe. You’ll need to squeeze the oil into the dough thoroughly before kneading the dough on the kitchen counter.
- Make larger pretzel burger buns: This recipe yields eight medium-sized pretzels buns for medium-sized burgers. If you want to make larger burger buns, for the “Dividing and Shaping” step, divide the dough into six equal pieces weighing roughly 135 grams, instead of eight equal pieces weighing roughly 101 grams. The larger dough balls will yield larger buns for bigger burgers.
Ingredient Amounts
Starter Feeding
- Sourdough Starter, leftover – 25 grams
- Water – 50 grams
- Bread Flour – 50 grams
Main Dough
- Bread Flour – 450 grams
- Water – 225 grams
- Sourdough Starter, active – 100 grams
- Salt – 10 grams, plus extra for sprinkling on the buns
- Butter, softened – 2 Tbsp (28 grams)
Baking Soda Solution
- Water – 2 cups (480 grams)
- Baking Soda – 4 tsp (24 grams)
Suggested Timeline
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 10:00 PM (Day 1) | Feeding the Sourdough Starter |
| 6:00 AM (Day 2) | Mixing the Dough |
| 6:05 AM | Kneading and Adding the Butter |
| 6:30 AM | The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation) |
| 12:30 PM | Dividing and Shaping the Sourdough Pretzel Buns |
| 1:00 PM | The Second Rise (Final Proof) |
| 3:00 PM | Applying the Baking Soda Solution |
| 3:10 PM | Baking |
How to Make Sourdough Pretzel Buns – Grant Bakes
Step-by-Step Instructions
Feeding the Sourdough Starter
Take 25 grams of sourdough starter out of the fridge. Add 50 grams of water and 50 grams of bread flour to the jar, along with the leftover sourdough starter, and mix it thoroughly to combine. Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band and close the lid of the jar loosely. Leave the starter to rise on your counter overnight for 6-8 hours, or until it roughly doubles in size.
Mixing the Dough
In a mixing bowl, combine the water and risen sourdough starter and stir thoroughly to dissolve the starter into the water. Then, add the bread flour and salt and mix to form a shaggy dough. Once the dough comes together, you can begin kneading.
Kneading and Adding the Butter
Turn the dough out onto your un-floured kitchen counter and knead it by hand for about 5 minutes, or until it forms a smooth ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then, press the dough down into a flat disc and press two tablespoons of softened butter into the dough. Stretch and fold the dough around the butter, and then knead the dough on the counter for 8 minutes total. At first the butter will cause the dough to break apart, but eventually the dough will come back together again, and after 8 minutes of kneading, the dough should form a smooth ball.
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Transfer the dough to an oiled glass bowl and cover it with an airtight lid or a sheet of plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 5-6 hours, or until it almost doubles in size.
Dividing and Shaping the Sourdough Pretzel Buns
Transfer the dough to your kitchen counter and press it down lightly into a circle. Divide the dough into eight pieces with a knife or bench scraper. (Each piece should weigh roughly 101 grams.) Stretch and fold each piece of dough into a ball and then roll the balls of dough on the counter to smooth out the seams.
Transfer the shaped balls of dough onto a metal baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat this shaping process until all eight sourdough pretzel buns are shaped and arranged on the baking sheet.
Note: See “Substitutions and Additions” for tips on making larger burger buns.
The Second Rise (Final Proof)
Cover the shaped pretzel buns with a sheet of plastic wrap brushed with oil. (This will keep the low-hydration pretzel buns from drying out during the second rise). Let the sourdough pretzel buns rise at room temperature for 1.5-2 hours until they look puffy and risen.
Applying the Baking Soda Solution
30 minutes before the pretzel buns are done rising, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Bring two cups of water to a boil on the stove and add 4 tsp of baking soda to the boiling water. Whisk thoroughly to combine and then turn the heat off.
Pick up a risen pretzel bun and place the dough into the pan of baking soda solution upside down. Place 6-8 pretzel buns into the pan at a time (as many as can fit in your pan). Allow them to float in the solution for 20-30 seconds upside-down, then remove them from the pan and arrange them back on the baking sheet right-side-up. Repeat this floating and soaking process with any remaining buns and arrange them all on the baking sheet.
Slice an “X” or a cross shape on top of each pretzel bun with a razor blade or a serrated bread knife. Then top the pretzel buns with a sprinkle of Kosher salt or coarse pretzel salt and move them to the oven to bake.
Baking
Bake the sourdough pretzel buns for 15-20 minutes at 450°F (232°C) in the middle rack of your oven, or until the buns are a golden brown color. Remove from the oven and allow the pretzel buns to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. Slice the buns in half and enjoy with a grilled hamburger and your favorite burger toppings.
Sourdough Pretzel Buns
These sourdough pretzel buns are easy to make using a standard sourdough pretzel dough. They're a wonderful balance of salty and chewy and make fantastic hamburger buns.
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter Feeding
- Sourdough Starter, leftover - 25 grams
- Water - 50 grams
- Bread Flour - 50 grams
Main Dough
- Bread Flour - 450 grams
- Water - 225 grams
- Sourdough Starter - 100 grams
- Salt - 10 grams, more to sprinkle on the pretzel buns
- Butter, softened - 2 Tbsp (28 grams)
Baking Soda Solution
- Water - 2 cups (480 grams)
- Baking Soda - 4 tsp (24 grams)
Instructions
Feeding the Sourdough Starter
Take 25 grams of sourdough starter out of the fridge. Add 50 grams of water and 50 grams of bread flour to the jar, along with the leftover sourdough starter, and mix it thoroughly to combine. Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band and close the lid of the jar loosely. Leave the starter to rise on your counter overnight for 6-8 hours, or until it roughly doubles in size.
Mixing the Dough
In a mixing bowl, combine the water and risen sourdough starter and stir thoroughly to dissolve the starter into the water. Then, add the bread flour and salt and mix to form a shaggy dough. Once the dough comes together, you can begin kneading.
Kneading and Adding the Butter
Turn the dough out onto your un-floured kitchen counter and knead it by hand for about 5 minutes, or until it forms a smooth ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then, press the dough down into a flat disc and press two tablespoons of softened butter into the dough. Stretch and fold the dough around the butter, and then knead the dough on the counter for 8 minutes total. At first the butter will cause the dough to break apart, but eventually the dough will come back together again, and after 8 minutes of kneading, the dough should form a smooth ball.
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Transfer the dough to an oiled glass bowl and cover it with an airtight lid or a sheet of plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 5-6 hours, or until it almost doubles in size.
Dividing and Shaping the Sourdough Pretzel Buns
Transfer the dough to your kitchen counter and press it down lightly into a circle. Divide the dough into eight pieces with a knife or bench scraper. (Each piece should weigh roughly 101 grams.) Stretch and fold each piece of dough into a ball and then roll the balls of dough on the counter to smooth out the seams.
Transfer the shaped balls of dough onto a metal baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat this shaping process until all eight sourdough pretzel buns are shaped and arranged on the baking sheet.
Note: See "Substitutions and Additions" for tips on making larger burger buns.
The Second Rise (Final Proof)
Cover the shaped pretzel buns with a sheet of plastic wrap brushed with oil. (This will keep the low-hydration pretzel buns from drying out during the second rise). Let the sourdough pretzel buns rise at room temperature for 1.5-2 hours until they look puffy and risen.
Applying the Baking Soda Solution
30 minutes before the pretzel buns are done rising, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Bring two cups of water to a boil on the stove and add 4 tsp of baking soda to the boiling water. Whisk thoroughly to combine and then turn the heat off.
Pick up a risen pretzel bun and place the dough into the pan of baking soda solution upside down. Place 6-8 pretzel buns into the pan at a time (as many as can fit in your pan). Allow them to float in the solution for 20-30 seconds upside-down, then remove them from the pan and arrange them back on the baking sheet right-side-up. Repeat this floating and soaking process with any remaining pretzels and arrange them all on the baking sheet.
Slice an “X” or a cross shape on top of each pretzel bun with a razor blade or a serrated bread knife. Then top the pretzel buns with a sprinkle of Kosher salt or coarse pretzel salt and move them to the oven to bake.
Baking
Bake the sourdough pretzel buns for 15-20 minutes at 450°F (232°C) in the middle rack of your oven, or until the pretzels are a golden brown color. Remove from the oven and allow the pretzel buns to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. Slice the buns in half and enjoy with a grilled hamburger and your favorite burger toppings.
Notes
Substitutions and Additions
Using oil instead of butter: You can use 28 grams (2 Tbsp) of olive oil or vegetable oil in place of the 28 grams of butter called for in this recipe. You'll need to squeeze the oil into the dough thoroughly before kneading the dough on the kitchen counter.
Make larger pretzel burger buns: This recipe yields eight medium-sized pretzels buns for medium-sized burgers. If you want to make larger burger buns, for the "Dividing and Shaping" step, divide the dough into six equal pieces weighing roughly 135 grams, instead of eight equal pieces weighing roughly 101 grams. The larger dough balls will yield larger buns for bigger burgers.