Soft Pretzels
Soft Pretzels
I used to work at the store across from the pretzel stand in the mall and have to smell the amazing smell of fresh soft pretzels for my entire shift. Soft pretzels are so greasy and salty and probably terrible for you but so amazing. This version is definitely healthier than a mall pretzel because they’re baked!
Make sure you eat these the day you make them! They don’t keep very well and will become spongy by the next day.
Steps in forming pretzel shapes. First divide into 12 equal pieces and roll into lines.
Then form a "u" and cross the ends.
Twist again before folding down and pressing to hold.
INGREDIENTS
Dough
1 cup hot water (about 110°F or 40°C)
2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter, melted
3 cups flour
Forming Pretzels
8-10 cups water
¼ cup baking soda
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. coarse/kosher salt
YIELD
12 pretzels
TIME
Prep - 20 minutes
Rise time - 2 hours
Form pretzels - 30 minutes
Bake - 15 minutes
TOOLS
2 large bowls
Small saucepan
Hand or stand mixer
Rectangle pan (13”x9”) *see other option above
Rolling pin (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Place hot water, yeast, and brown sugar in the bottom of your bowl. Let sit until the yeast is fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the salt and 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the yeast mixture. Combine with your stand or hand mixer. Add flour and stir until the dough is semi-combined and starts to stick to the beaters.
If you have a stand mixer, switch out the flat beater for the dough hook. Continue mixing, raising the speed to medium-high, until the dough forms a ball and the sides of the bowl are mostly clean. If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead by hand.
The dough should be slightly tacky but not wet. If it’s too wet, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until you can touch the dough with just a bit of stickiness (your hands should stay mostly clean).
Transfer the ball of dough to a large bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in room temperature until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
Bring a large pot of water to boil (about 8-10 cups of water). Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 12 equal sized pieces.
Roll each piece into a rope that is 12 inches long. Let them sit for 5 minutes. Then roll each rope until it double in size.
Form each pretzel. Create a “U” shape. Cross the top ends of the “U” over each other. Twist once then fold over into a pretzel shape. Press the ends onto the bottom of the pretzel to seal. Repeat with remaining dough.
Once the water is boiling, add baking soda to the water. Boil each pretzel for 1 minute, then transfer with a slotted spoon to prepared baking sheets. Continue until all the pretzels are boiled.
Brush each pretzel with melted butter. Sprinkle with the coarse salt (or any other topping such as cinnamon sugar, parmesan cheese and Italian spices or whatever you can think of).
Bake pretzels for about 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Eat the day of.
Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust.
