Low Carb Pretzel Buns. Thought I might give these pretzel buns a try and they are terrific. Quite dense and not airy like the high carby buns being made today. The average hamburger bun has about 26-28 carb grams and that is way too high for me. These low carb pretzel buns are not huge but a great way to get a pretty large hamburger with whatever you want on it into your mouth without a knife & fork. That’s a ⅓ lb. hunk of beef with tomato & onion on that bun.
There is a hilarious story here and I am almost (but not quite) to embarrassed to tell it but… I’m going to tell it anyway and with pictures to boot. Though I do make “mistakes” when testing recipes these low carb pretzel buns were such a lulu of a mistake that I thought I would do a show and tell.
One of the hallmarks of Carbalose flour is that it is not sticky which of course means not much starch (sugar) in it. I have been working with this flour for years and I well knew this but…stupidity stepped in and just took over. When rolling and forming the dough balls it is hard to get the bottoms to stick well which was not the problem. It was putting them into the simmering baking soda water. The tenuous hold on the bottom literally undid themselves allowing the water into the interior of the dough ball. I tried to salvage them but to no avail. I brushed them with the egg yolk, salted them, and baked them. Ugh, Ugh, and more Ugh. The idea of the soda water is to take the place of the lye used in big production runs that pretzels are dunked into for about 30-45 seconds (like bagels) and for the dark glazy crust. Well, soda has its own salty flavor and since it had pretty well permeated the whole pretzel bun, coupled with the sea salt on the top they were totally, totally inedible, not to mention how they looked. So, there you have it.
I personally have rolled 10’s of 1,000s of rolls so don’t be intimidated if your rolls aren’t perfect and even mine aren’t always perfect. I do them two at a time which is what’s necessary for large hand productions. Now days there are machines that do it all for you but not back when I learned this. Here is a good Video that shows the technique and not quite, but pretty close to how I do mine. I do curve and tuck my fingers around the dough ball but again I’ve done it so many times it’s like falling off a log for me. As there is less friction, you want to form these buns on a countertop and not on a wooden cutting board.
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- 1⅓ C Carbalose Flour
- 2 T Wheat Gluten
- 2 T Coconut Flour
- ½ t Salt
- ⅛ t Guar Gum
- ⅛ t Xanthan Gum
- 2 T Flaxseed Meal
- 2 T Water
- 1 T Yeast
- ½ t Sugar
- ⅓ C Warm Water
- 2½ T Melted Butter
- 3 Drops Sucralose
- 2 T Heavy Cream
- 1 Egg White
- 1 T Water
- 1 Egg Yolk
- ¼ C Water
- 1½ t Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt For Sprinkling
- Sesame Seeds (Optional Topping)
- Add flaxseed to 2 T warm water for 10 minutes. (It will become quite gelatinous).
- Bloom yeast & sugar in ⅓ C warm water for 10 minutes or until foamy.
- Put first 6 ingredients in processor and pulse to blend.
- Add flaxseed mixture to dry ingredients and pulse to blend.
- Add liquid Sucralose, egg white, melted butter and heavy cream to top of bloomed yeast and with machine running add to dry ingredients.
- Mix egg yolk & 1 T water.
- Run processor for at least 2 minutes and probably a little longer adding any additional water as needed 1 T at a time.
- You want to make sure there is enough water. Dough should hold together, have a loose consistency and should not be sticky on your hands. At this point the dough should have the same look and feel of regular bread.
- Form into a ball and put into un-greased bowl and cover with film for about 20-25-30 minutes or until slightly less than doubled. Do not over-proof.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Form gently into 6 equal buns about 2½ oz. each.
- Thoroughly mix water & baking soda.
- One at a time completely brush each bun with soda water.
- Now brush each bun with egg yolk wash.
- Make one small slash in top of each bun.
- Don't need to cover as they are plenty wet from both the washes.
- Proof 15-20 minutes.
- Do not over proof as they will rise a little more in the oven.
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until they are a bronzed brown.
- 6 Servings
- 165 Calories, 9.7g Protein, 11.1g Fat, 13.2g Carbs, 8.1g Fiber, 5.1g Net Carbs
- It is difficult for me to tell anything about where you are located, altitude, egg size etc. If you end up with too much liquid add another couple 1-2 T flour. If the dough is too stiff, add another 1-2 T water. Don't fret...bread dough is quite forgiving.
- Don’t over salt your buns as the soda water will add a salty twang of its own but...if you like a salty bun. by all means go for it.
- You will have egg yolk wash left-over, just throw it away.
What is soda water? Club soda? Thanks
Tom,
In this recipe it is the mixture of the ¼ C Water and 1½ t Baking Powder
Sorry for any mix up and I have corrected it to read a bit better.
Deborah, are these as chewy as bagels? I’m wondering if I poke a hole in the middle and put them in about a half inch of simmering water, if they will fall apart. I miss bagels, and all the low carb recipes I see for them use that cheese dough, which just isn’t the same.
Hi Cindy, No not at all chewy like a bagel and simmering in water will NOT work. If you look at the last set of pics that’s what I did and they were a disaster. They don’t look to bad but the bottom completely opened up and filled with the soda water. Salty enough (from the soda bath) to choke a goat so no, just don’t.
But the good news is that they do taste like a pretzel bun.
I am an idiot. Despìte looking twice, I do see the yeast listed and I have corrected the recipe saved in my software.
Doesn’t make you an idiot, maybe you just blinked when looking at the recipe.
Hello. The recipe does not list the amount of yeast and sugar used. Based on other recipes I have used, I decided to use 1.5 tsp of yeast and 1 tsp of sugar.
Hi Richard,
The amounts are listed in the recipe.
1 T Yeast
½ t Sugar