I'm having so much fun making bread these days. You can make this recipe without a mixer, but if you are going to be making bread often, you may want to invest in a stand mixer since you can use it for so many other things as well.
I had an egg white left over from another recipe so I brushed that over the pretzels but you could use an egg yolk or even a whole egg if you want to.
There are many different things that you can sprinkle on top of your pretzels but I chose pink salt, sesame seeds and caraway seeds this time.
Soft Pretzels
Makes 12 pretzels
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (instant or active)
- 1 teaspoon pink salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- oil for rising
- 1 egg white
- salt, sesame seeds, caraway seeds
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 4 cups water
Directions
- Place the warm water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of your mixer and combine with a whisk. Allow yeast to activate for about 10 minutes.
- Once your yeast is nice and foamy, add salt and melted butter and give it a stir.
- On low speed, start adding the flour one cup at a time. You may need more or less depending on your altitude so add it just until the dough forms a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Five cups was perfect for me.
- Increase the speed of your mixer to medium and let the mixer knead for you for 5 minutes. Don't leave it or it may hop off the counter. You can also mix by hand if you don't have a mixer.
- Oil the bottom and sides of a large bowl. I actually just used the bowl from the mixer. Place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic and a clean towel and allow to rise for 1 hour. I placed mine in the oven with the light on.
- Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 450F and place the rack in the middle.
- Whisk your egg white with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside.
- Bring 1/4 cup baking soda and 4 cups of water up to a simmer over medium heat.
- Drop the dough out onto your counter-top or board and cut it into 12 pieces. You can make bigger pretzels if you wish, just be sure to adjust the baking time accordingly.
- Roll each piece of dough into a 1 foot long ropes, then form them into a pretzel shape by forming the rope into a U shape, twisting the top twice and then folding the ends back down into the bottom of the U. Here's a quick video showing how to form the pretzel shape. Place the pretzel onto a parchment lined baking sheet while you work on the next one.
- One or two at a time, place the pretzels into the simmering pot of water for only 30 seconds. Splash a little water over the top rather than flipping the pretzels over. Remove with a slotted utensil to allow as much water to drip off as possible before placing back onto the parchment paper.
- Brush your pretzels with the egg wash and sprinkle on whichever toppings you like.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops turn golden. Allow to cool slightly before eating as they will be very hot straight from the oven.
Tips:
- Pretzels are usually served with mustard or cheese sauce.
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