Pretzel Rolls

I fell in love with these delicious dark brown rolls as soon as I arrived in Switzerland for the first time in 1973. Made from the same dough used for soft pretzels, the dark crust is obtained by dipping the fully proofed rolls into a 4% solution of lye and water. I know it sounds shocking, but every pretzel, soft or hard, in the world is made exactly the same way. Food-grade lye is available from online sources, but it’s caustic enough to burn your skin badly, and it could be fatal. Conseq