tropit

I've been reading about how to make sourdough, pretzel buns for hamburgers. Some of the ingredients listed in many of the recipes are kind of odd, like, "sourdough starter discard," " non-diastatic malt powder," instant yeast (even though there is already starter,) baking soda, etc. I'm a little befuddled.

Has anyone ever made sourdough, pretzel buns before? What role do these odd ingredients play?

Thanks,

janiebakes

I have never made the pretzel buns but have baked a lot of sourdough over the years. The discarded sourdough dough starter will add a lot of delicious sourdough flavor but is over the hill when it comes to leavening the dough. That is why you need the instant yeast. The non diastatic malt powder can be added to the dough as food for the yeast. It can also be used instead of lye, in a boiling water bath to give your pretzels a hard shiney crust. Not sure why they are asking for baking soda. Could be to help with the leaveing, to adjust the pH of the dough or to put in the boiling water bath. Good luck, sounds delish!

rjwilder

Sounds interesting, I've made sourdough bread but not pretzel buns. What is different about the pretzel buns versus sourdough buns. Is it just the shape?

tropit

Thanks, Janiebakes. I wonder why you can't use just regular, live, sourdough starter and skip the instant active yeast. I would also think that the fancy malt powder could be replaced with regular sugar, although that might affect the taste. I'm pretty sure that the baking soda is used in the boiling water, since it is alkaline and that is what makes that shiny crust and unusual taste. I'm going to keep researching.

tropit

Pretzel buns have a shiny, chewy crust and taste like soft pretzels. They can be sour, or not sour. I want to make some of these buns for hamburgers.

rjwilder

I was curious after reading this post yesterday. I went to my local grocery store and they sell pretzel buns. I bought a package and tried them out last night. They were pretty tasty, there is only two of use so froze the rest of them.