Pretzel Buns with Za’atar​​​

I had a great idea: Why don’t I make pretzel buns and top them with our Everything Blend?!!

I found this recipe and barreled ahead with my pretzel making! Halfway through the waiting stage of the recipe, I started looking for some Everything…

And you know what? I couldn’t find it, but I did find some Za’atar and I’m glad I did because Everything woulda been great but the Za’atar played so well with the brussels sprout slaw and the Wishbone Heritage Farms dogs we got at the market that day.

Here’s how to be super cool and make your own hot dog buns:

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoon) active dry yeast

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups flour

12 cups H2O

3/4 cup baking soda

1 egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water

whatever you wanna throw on top of these beauties (za’atar, everything, plain ol’ salt)

In a small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Add milk and heat until warm but not hot.

In a large bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer) combine milk mixture with yeast and brown sugar.  Add salt and two cups of flour and mix until combined. Gradually add the rest of the flour, mixing until a smooth dough is formed.

If using your stand mixer knead dough with the dough hook or knead by hand until a smooth elastic dough forms ~ about 10 to 12 minutes. Grease a large bowl with a little olive oil. Throw your dough into this bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and let rise until doubled in size ~ about an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 F line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large pot combine H2O and baking soda and bring to a boil.

Punch down your dough and divide into 8 parts (look at the size of your dogs, I made 7 buns because I wanted them to be longer). Roll each part into a log shape. Boil for 2 minutes, flipping them over if they stay on one side. Remove with a slotted spatula and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with topping (za’atar, everything, chunky salt…let your heart guide you).

Bake 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350F ~ bake another 10 minutes or until the buns are evenly browned to your liking.

Serve with hot dogs and all the fixings (best the day they are made but still tasty one or two days later).

Enjoy

XO

Charleston Spice Co.