A few years ago, on a whim at some book store, I picked up Lukas Volger's Veggie Burgers Every Which Way. This cookbook introduced me to making my own veggie burgers, and it is a fantastic starting point for a novice. This book contains a pretzel roll recipe that is delicious, but not very nutritious or easily eaten as a bun, so I started working with the recipe making it my own.
I have made these rolls several times over the last few years, and have brought them into an actual burger bun form that is still pretzelly but offers some nutrition. These rolls are easily made vegan by using a nut, soy, or rice milk in exchange for the milk. Fill them with your favorite burger or barbeque and enjoy!
A Note Technique: I primarily use a stand mixer with an orbital rotation (the company shall remain nameless, as I do not approve of their politics) to mix and knead my bread products due to some joint problems and bruising that I have in my hands. All of my recipes can be mixed and kneaded with a hand mixer and hand kneading or strictly by hand, but please add 3 to 4 minutes of additional kneading if using these methods. When I am able to, I do use a traditional kneading method with my dough, as I can more easily judge the water content and smoothness of the finished product. Let me know if you have any questions regarding changes in the kneading method.
Pretzel Buns
Ingredients:
2/3 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast (equivalent to one package)
3 tablespoons olive oil plus more to oil bowl
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 to 2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon salt divided
2 tablespoons baking soda
rock, kosher, or sea salt for sprinkling
Add the milk and water to a mixing bowl and dissolve yeast in the liquid. Let stand to proof for five minutes. Incorporate the whole wheat flour into the mixture and let stand for an additional five minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour and mix to incorporate.
At this point, you should be able to form a dough ball and should knead it for 3 minutes in the mixer. This will allow the flour to absorb the water thoroughly as well as let the gluten start forming. After this kneading, add 1 teaspoon of salt and enough flour to make the dough pliable and easily kneaded without being sticky. Knead until smooth and bouncy, which should take about 8 minutes by machine.
Oil the inside of a large kitchen bowl with olive oil to coat the bottom and sides. Place dough in the bowl and flip over; then cover with a tea towel or other lint free kitchen towel. For this batch, I used a glass bowl with a fitted lid, which works great, but I know this may not be a set up everyone has. Allow to rise until double, which should take 45 to 60 minutes depending on the warmth of your kitchen. After the dough has risen, turn out onto a dry surface and knead dough to work out all the air. Place back into the oiled bowl to rise until double again, which should take 40 to 45 minutes.
When dough is doubled, drop onto work surface. Using flats of hands, work dough out into a flat rectangle to release air. (This will save you time: a traditional punch down will make dough more elastic and you would need to let it rest before flattening.) Divide dough into 12 equal parts. When using a kitchen scale, my dough balls weigh about 2.5 ounces each. Roll dough into balls and set aside to rest.
While dough balls rest, take a clean tea towel and place flat on a work surface as adjacent to your stove as possible. Take handfuls of flour and work into the surface of the towel. Imagine that you are trying to fill the grooves in the surface with the flour. This will make an ideal location for the buns to rise, as your towel is now virtually non-stick.
Once the dough has rested and the towel is floured, set the balls in an evenly spaced pattern on the towel. Flatten each ball gently with an open hand. When all balls flattened, starting back at the first, turn the dough balls over and flatten once more. When finished with the second flattening, turn back to the first side, and cover dough balls with a clean tea towel. It's OK to use the first towel you used during the rising: I would consider that one clean. :-) Allow buns to rise for 1 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
When the buns have risen sufficiently, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray that will accommodate all 12 buns with parchment paper. (Note: do not skip this or try to grease the pans. I ruined two baking sheets trying to get around this step.) Then set a large pot (I refer to this as a dutch oven) half full of cold water on a burner to come to a boil. When the water reaches a boil, add the baking soda and 1 tablespoon of salt, but be aware: the baking soda will make the water foam. In batches of 3 to 4, poach the buns on each side for one to two minutes.
As you remove the buns from the water, set onto baking sheet close together and score the tops in an X pattern with a very sharp knife; then sprinkle with kosher, rock, or sea salt. When all 12 buns are poached, place the pan in the oven to bake for approximately 20 minutes. When finished baking, remove buns from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
And there you have it: Pretzel Buns. A few more things to note when making these. The poaching liquid will start to look gelatinous after a batch of two, and that's normal. It's the combination of the starch and baking soda boiling in the water. Also, if you want them to brown more, you can use up to 1/4 cup of baking soda when making the poaching liquid. I opted for less with this batch, as I didn't want them as dark, but that is totally the baker's call. The scoring ont he top is primarily to allow steam to release, but depending on how long it takes you to get the poached buns into the oven, the vent may open up some. It took me a bit longer with making notes on my progress and taking pictures, so that didn't happen today.
Finally, when deciding what to put in your bun, I can tell you one thing NOT to eat with it. Tex Mex style black bean burgers are bad with them. The salsa flavors don't go well with the pretzel. Barbeque or a more traditional veggie burger is much better. They are also good with peanut butter on them instead of a burger inside.
Add the milk and water to a mixing bowl and dissolve yeast in the liquid. Let stand to proof for five minutes. Incorporate the whole wheat flour into the mixture and let stand for an additional five minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour and mix to incorporate.
At this point, you should be able to form a dough ball and should knead it for 3 minutes in the mixer. This will allow the flour to absorb the water thoroughly as well as let the gluten start forming. After this kneading, add 1 teaspoon of salt and enough flour to make the dough pliable and easily kneaded without being sticky. Knead until smooth and bouncy, which should take about 8 minutes by machine.
Oil the inside of a large kitchen bowl with olive oil to coat the bottom and sides. Place dough in the bowl and flip over; then cover with a tea towel or other lint free kitchen towel. For this batch, I used a glass bowl with a fitted lid, which works great, but I know this may not be a set up everyone has. Allow to rise until double, which should take 45 to 60 minutes depending on the warmth of your kitchen. After the dough has risen, turn out onto a dry surface and knead dough to work out all the air. Place back into the oiled bowl to rise until double again, which should take 40 to 45 minutes.
When dough is doubled, drop onto work surface. Using flats of hands, work dough out into a flat rectangle to release air. (This will save you time: a traditional punch down will make dough more elastic and you would need to let it rest before flattening.) Divide dough into 12 equal parts. When using a kitchen scale, my dough balls weigh about 2.5 ounces each. Roll dough into balls and set aside to rest.
While dough balls rest, take a clean tea towel and place flat on a work surface as adjacent to your stove as possible. Take handfuls of flour and work into the surface of the towel. Imagine that you are trying to fill the grooves in the surface with the flour. This will make an ideal location for the buns to rise, as your towel is now virtually non-stick.
When the buns have risen sufficiently, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray that will accommodate all 12 buns with parchment paper. (Note: do not skip this or try to grease the pans. I ruined two baking sheets trying to get around this step.) Then set a large pot (I refer to this as a dutch oven) half full of cold water on a burner to come to a boil. When the water reaches a boil, add the baking soda and 1 tablespoon of salt, but be aware: the baking soda will make the water foam. In batches of 3 to 4, poach the buns on each side for one to two minutes.
As you remove the buns from the water, set onto baking sheet close together and score the tops in an X pattern with a very sharp knife; then sprinkle with kosher, rock, or sea salt. When all 12 buns are poached, place the pan in the oven to bake for approximately 20 minutes. When finished baking, remove buns from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
And there you have it: Pretzel Buns. A few more things to note when making these. The poaching liquid will start to look gelatinous after a batch of two, and that's normal. It's the combination of the starch and baking soda boiling in the water. Also, if you want them to brown more, you can use up to 1/4 cup of baking soda when making the poaching liquid. I opted for less with this batch, as I didn't want them as dark, but that is totally the baker's call. The scoring ont he top is primarily to allow steam to release, but depending on how long it takes you to get the poached buns into the oven, the vent may open up some. It took me a bit longer with making notes on my progress and taking pictures, so that didn't happen today.
Finally, when deciding what to put in your bun, I can tell you one thing NOT to eat with it. Tex Mex style black bean burgers are bad with them. The salsa flavors don't go well with the pretzel. Barbeque or a more traditional veggie burger is much better. They are also good with peanut butter on them instead of a burger inside.
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