Name: Ham and Cheese Pretzel Rolls
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 1 h 42 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 5 cups all-purpose flour; 3 teaspoons instant yeast; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 2 cups very warm water; 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese; 12 slices ham (thin sliced deli style); 1/2 cup warm water; 2 tablespoons baking soda; coarse or kosher salt for sprinkling; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for brushing after baking)

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These soft, buttery, ham and cheese pretzel rolls are so easy to make and perfect for on the go meals, or enjoy them hot from the oven!

If you’re looking for a tasty sandwich recipe, that’s not your typical sandwich, I’ve got the recipe for you!

These ham and cheese pretzel rolls are soft and buttery and easy to make, and are perfect for on the go meals. Easily customizable too, if you want to change things up and use a different type of meat or cheese.

These pretzel rolls taste fantastic, we all enjoyed them, and they are perfect for those days when you’re running all over the place at dinner time, and need something you can bring along for supper. And the leftovers make the perfect lunch!

What makes pretzel rolls different?

Pretzel rolls get their distinctive dark brown colour and chewy texture from an extra step in the baking process. Instead of just baking them as you would regular rolls, they are first boiled briefly in a baking soda solution.

The actual process uses lye for that distinctive “pretzel” flavour, but for an “at home” version, baking soda is a good substitute.

For these ham and cheese pretzel rolls, we are actually going to skip the boiling step, because everything would fall out and we’d basically have a big mess on our hands instead of beautiful pretzel rolls.

So to get the distinctive pretzel taste, we will do a quick dunk in a baking soda solution before baking them. They don’t get quite the same chewy texture that soft pretzels that are boiled do, but the baking soda wash gives them the pretzel flavour that we all know and love.

Can ham and cheese pretzel rolls be frozen?

These pretzel rolls freeze beautifully for quick and easy on the go meals. I love to make a big batch and freeze them so that we have ready made lunches in the freezer for those days we are running out the door and need to grab something at the last minute.

To freeze these rolls, simply bake them as directed, and then let them cool completely before freezing them in a large ziplock bag, or an airtight container.

How to make Ham and Cheese Pretzel Rolls:

This dough is very easy to make, so if you haven’t worked with yeast before, this is a good yeast dough to start with!
Make sure to whisk the baking soda solution between dipping the rolls into it, as the baking soda tends to settle out of solution quickly.
Brush the pretzel rolls with melted butter immediately after taking them out of the oven.
You can use any coarse salt you have for topping these pretzel rolls. I usually use kosher salt, but coarse sea salt or pretzel salt work well too.

Here are some more great sandwich recipes for you:

Yield: 12 rolls

Ham and Cheese Pretzel Rolls

These soft, buttery, ham and cheese pretzel rolls are so easy to make and perfect for on the go meals, or enjoy them hot from the oven!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Rise Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 42 minutes

Ingredients

For the dough:

5 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups very warm water

For the rolls:

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 slices ham (thin sliced deli style)
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
coarse or kosher salt for sprinkling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for brushing after baking)

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or in a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, brown sugar and 2 cups of very warm water.
Once the ingredients are combined, knead for 5-6 minutes by machine, or 10-12 by hand.
The dough should clear the sides and bottom of the bowl and be very soft and smooth, but not overly sticky. If it’s too sticky add a bit more flour, a tablespoon at a time, if it’s really dry and not tacky at all, add a little more water a tablespoon at a time.
Move the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and let rest for 30-60 minutes, the bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
On a lightly oiled surface, roll out the dough to an 18x16 inch rectangle.
Slice the dough into twelve 6x4 inch rectangles.
Fold one slice of ham in the middle of each rectangle, leaving a one inch space on each of the long sides.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over top of the ham.
Cut the long sides into 1 inch diagonal strips, and fold these strips over top of the filling, alternating sides to form a braid. Pinch the ends to seal the dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough rectangles.
In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the warm water and the baking soda.
Dip each braided roll into the baking soda solution, turning it to coat (whisk it together again in between every couple rolls as the soda tends to settle quickly) and place it on the baking sheet.
Sprinkle with coarse or kosher salt.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
When they come out of the oven, brush with the melted butter.
Serve warm. They are best immediately after baking them, but they also reheat well, and are very good cold. They freeze well in an airtight container or ziplock to pull out for quick and easy lunch packing too.

Notes

Source: Adapted from my Pretzel Bites.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 roll
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 373Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 1590mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 24g

Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.

I’ve also shared this Ham and Cheese Pretzel Roll recipe over on Food Fanatic

Barbara L

Saturday 20th of February 2016

I've never heard of a baking soda wash before. What does it do to improve the rolls?

stacey

In order to get that "pretzel" taste that is typical of soft pretzels, they actually use a lye solution commercially. I'm too much of a chicken to attempt that at home, but the baking soda wash is a good way to mimic the taste you get from the lye bath. It makes it taste like a soft pretzel rather then just a dinner roll - "pretzels" it! And you don't have to go find food grade lye in order to have homemade soft pretzels, so there's that! :)