Pretzel Buns

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 -115ºF)
1 tablespoon barley malt syrup or honey
2 1/4 teaspoon (7 g or 1 package) active dry yeast
4 1/4 cups (637 g) bread flour
1/4 cup (57 g or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda

To finish
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon sesame seed


Directions
1. Place the warm water and barley malt syrup (or honey) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Stir the liquid together to dissolve the sweetener. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the liquid and stir with a fork to dissolve. Let sit for 5 minutes to proof. The top of the liquid should be foamy. If it isn’t discard and start over with fresh yeast.

2. Once the yeast has proofed, add the flour, butter and salt to the liquid and stir it with the dough hook on slow speed until the liquid has absorbed all the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and pulls away cleanly from the side of the bowl.

3. Pull the dough off the hook and out of the bowl, and coat the bowl with cooking spray. Stretch the dough into a ball, gathering the rough edges of the dough into one side and then place in the bowl, with the rough edges down. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit to rise until the dough has doubled, about 50 to 60 minutes.

4. Once the dough has doubled, preheat the oven to 450ºF. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper. Place the water and baking soda in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, stirring to make sure the baking soda has dissolved.

5. Once the water has been brough to a boil, divide the dough into 10 even pieces. Form each piece into a ball, then boil half the balls in the baking soda water for 45 seconds. Flip the ball upside down and boil for an additional 45 seconds. Remove the balls from the water and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.

6. Beat the egg yolk and water together and brush the top of each bun with the egg wash. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the buns. The egg wash will help the sesame seeds to stick. Bake in the oven for 14 to 16 minutes or until the buns are a dark pretzel brown. Rotating the pans once during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.

Makes 10 buns.