Photography, recipe development, and styling by Edd Kimber ”I love a classic pretzel, but I rarely crave them enough to make a batch.Instead, I turn to their easier sibling, the pretzel bun.These soft buns are very simple to make and have that distinctive pretzel flavour, but as they’re made as soft bread buns, they’re ultimately easier to make and they have more uses.

These buns are great for sandwiches, serving with soup, or even as burger buns.To get the best and most authentic flavour, they would normally be dipped in lye.(But lye is tricky to get your hands on and is strongly corrosive, so it must be used with care and caution.) A good alternative is to use baked baking soda.

By baking the soda before it is used, the pH level changes, turning sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate, a stronger alkali that is closer to lye.The baked baking soda is much less caustic compared to lye, but it’s still an irritant, so take care when handling and try not to get it on your bare skin.” —Edd Kimber Small-Batch Pretzel Buns Print Recipe Pin Recipe Makes 6 buns Ingredients  Baked Baking Soda8 ounces (226 grams) baking sodaPretzel Bun Dough4 cups (500 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring2¼ teaspoons (7 grams) instant yeast3 teaspoons (9 grams) kosher salt1⅓ cups

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