What can you do with a big, beautiful batch of dinner rolls that taste exactly like soft pretzels?

You can …

• Stuff them with bacon, egg and cheese for a balanced Oktoberfest breakfast.
• Dunk them in beer cheese soup.
• Make a pretzel sandwich with Black Forest ham and Gouda or thin-sliced country ham and Cheddar.
• Hook up some bratwurst burgers. Or hamburgers. Or mushroom burgers, you sexy vegetarians.
• Split one, and slather each side with a garlic-and-herb or vegetable spread. 
• Rock a pretzel reuben with corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut and Thousand Island.
• Throw down some serious schnitzel sliders.
• Split one, toast it, and top it with peanut butter. Or Nutella.
• Explore the World of Pretzel Dogs.
• Or, serve them on a platter with sliced sausages and spicy mustard. Ooh, and beer cheese!

Pretzel Rolls know how to party.

Make a batch, share the love, and don’t forget to Chicken Dance.

Pretzel Rolls

Slightly adapted from “Bon Appetit” (January 1994)

Makes 8 rolls

• 2 3/4 cups bread flour
• 1 envelope quick-rising yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot water (125°F to 130°F)

• Cornmeal
• 8 cups water
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 egg white, beaten
• Coarse salt

1. To Make the Dough: Combine bread flour, yeast, salt, sugar and celery seeds in food processor, and blend. With machine running, slowly pour hot water through feed tube, adding enough water to form smooth elastic dough. Process 1 minute to knead.
2. Place the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover, and let dough rise in warm area until doubled in size, about 35 minutes.
3. To Shape the Rolls: Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, and set aside. Punch dough down, and knead on lightly floured countertop until smooth.
4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Form each dough piece into ball. Place dough balls on prepared sheet, flattening each slightly. Using a serrated knife (or, even better, kitchen shears), cut an X in top center of each dough ball. Cover with towel, and let dough balls rise until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
6. Cover a second baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle it with cornmeal (or just cover it with a Silpain Perforated Baking Mat), and set aside.
7. Bring 8 cups water to boil in large saucepan. Add baking soda and 2 tablespoons sugar (the water will foam up).
8. Add 4 rolls, and cook 30 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rolls to the prepared sheet, arranging X side up. Repeat with remaining rolls.
9. Brush rolls with egg white glaze, and sprinkle generously with coarse salt.
10. Bake rolls until brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Serve rolls warm or room temperature.

Note: To rewarm the rolls, place them in a 375-degree oven for 10 minutes.

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