Pretzel Buns

Selected by Sam* (Senior Guide)

INGREDIENTS

For the Buns

1 package (or 2 ¼ teaspoons) of active dry yeast

2 tablespoons of butter

1 cup warm milk

¾ cup warm water

1 teaspoon salt

4 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt for sprinkling

(can also add sesame seeds)

For the water bath

2.8 litres of water

¼ cup baking soda

Time

Prep Time: 10 minutes + 60 minutes rest time

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves

Storage

These are best eaten day of or keep well if frozen the day of baking

METHOD

Mix it up. In a large bowl, stir together the yeast, melted butter, warm milk and warm water and set aside for 5 minutes.

In a second large bowl, combine salt and flour before adding it, one cup at a time, to the liquid mixture. Gradually a soft dough will form, at which point you can begin to knead the dough for 3 - 4 minutes. The dough should be soft, but slightly stiff.

Let sit. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover it with plastic and let it rise until doubled in size for 2 hours.

Divide and Rest. Portion the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece of dough into a round ball. Lay out the rolls on a lightly floured counter. Make sure the dough balls won't stick. Let them rest for 15 - 20 minutes.

Preheat. While the dough rests, set the oven to 425°F and bring a large pot of water and baking soda to the boil (see "water bath" above).

Bathe. Place 2 pretzel buns in the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. With a spatula, remove the pretzel buns from the boiling water and let the excess water drip off into the pot before placing onto a baking tray.

Flavour and Score. Lightly brush each pretzel bun with melted butter and then lightly sprinkle each bun with coarse sea salt. Once buttered and salted, use a razor blade or sharp knife to score a cross into the top of each bun.

Bake. Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the pretzels are a deep golden brown. Enjoy as is or with a little mustard/dipping sauce of choice, or use for burgers, stuff them with jackfruit or use in any sandwich of your choice.

I usually make this recipe plant-based, using plant-based milk instead of dairy and vegan butter instead of dairy butter. I have used oat, almond and soy milk in the past and all work well. For the butter, I usually use sticks of the unsalted plant-based Becel which can be found in Creekside Market and larger supermarkets in Squamish, otherwise you can commonly find Earth Balance vegan spread and Melt Organic Butter among other brands in stores in Whistler.

While resting dough, cover with a kitchen towel, silicone bowl cover or beeswax wrap instead of plastic wrap.
Instead of buying the single serve packages of dried yeast you can buy a jar and keep it in the refrigerator. It's good for 6 months after opening.
Get your dry ingredients from a bulk store or bulk section of your supermarket and use your own jars and bags. Check out some of the stores in the Sea to Sky, Vancouver area and more here.
Plant-based milks can be pre-ordered and purchased from The Velvet Underground (just across the road from Green Mo-Function Junction!) and come in re-usable glass bottles, or even better, bring your own container for them to transfer the milk into Shop Velvet Cafe
If you’re interested in making your own oat, soy or nut milks, there are recipes galore online, or you can check out Velvet Underground's YouTube video here.

Bred, a bakery located in Creekside, Whistler, mills flour on their premises. Pre-order and pick up flour in store! Locally milled flour - Bred
Flourist is a Vancouver Mill & Bakery that delivers to North Shore, Burnaby, Richmond and Vancouver. All their grains are sourced from Canadian growers in addition to some wholegrains and beans!

You can adjust your fillings according to the season; fresh salad greens, tomatoes etc in the summer and coleslaw, kimchi, sauerkraut in the Fall/Winter as well as cucumbers that you pickled in the summer to eat in the off-season.

*Adapted from Fueled Naturally - Vegan Pretzel Buns

Photos by Greg Walker