Pretzel Bread Rolls

We had a grill-out this weekend, and I was considerably more excited about making the rolls for the burgers than the burgers themselves. This turned out to be a good thing, because my mom made the burgers while I was sleeping in. Luckily I woke up with enough time to make these incredibly easy and, for a yeast bread, speedy pretzel rolls.

While I won't claim that the rolls precisely emanate the chewy, even gummy texture of the classic ballgame pretzel, they do have, I'll argue, their own delightful bite, heightened by little, crunchy kernels of salt. The rolls take a dip in a waterbath, which creates their particular chew and crust, more reminiscent of a bagel than a pretzel, I thought. Lovely just the same.

The recipe suggested slashing them before the waterbath, and I thought this technique worked fairly well. The final rolls didn't have terribly deep gashes, but they were pretty nonetheless. Next time I'll add more salt, though. I didn't have coarse salt, just the smaller kosher salt, and I think the bread would benefit--and be extra pretzelly--from the coarser kind.

The burgers were excellent as well, so I'd definitely recommend that recipe. People topped them with veggies from the grill (tomato, avocado, onion and mushroom), cheese, et cetera. But I like to think the rolls trumped any condiment.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Pretzel Bread Rolls
Ingredients:
1 envelope yeast
1 cup plus 2 TBSP water
1 tsp sugar
2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
cornmeal
1/4 cup baking soda
2 TBSP sugar
coarse salt

Directions:
--Warm water in a saucepan until gently heated. Pour yeast and sugar in a bowl and add warm water, stirring slightly. Let sit seven minutes or until yeast is proofed.
--Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until a rough dough comes together. Knead with your hands until dough is smooth, about ten minutes.
Cover dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled, or about 35 minutes.
--Flour a large cutting board, bread board or countertop. Punch dough down and knead until smooth. Divide into eight pieces, and shape each piece into a ball. Set rolls on floured surface. Using a serrated knife, slash an X on the top of each roll. Let rise, covered, until doubled, or about 20 minutes.
--Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with cornmeal. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add baking soda and sugar. Add four rolls at a time to boiling water and cook one minute, turning rolls over half way through. Using a slotted spoon or spatula, lift rolls from water and place on prepared sheet. Repeat with next four rolls.
--Sprinkle rolls liberally with salt. Bake until browned and crust feels firm, approximately 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Do not cut until cooled.