Round Forty Three — Soft Pretzels
I know I’ve been kind of slow on the upkeep of this blog. But it’s not my fault.
It’s his.
Go ahead and try to blame him. I know I have.
It has not gone well.
Percy, as we’ve named him, moved in this weekend and I think he’s planning to stay. I think we’re OK with it. So long as he lets me bake, which so far, hasn’t been a problem.
These soft pretzels are a perfect complement to my husband Elliott’s Sunday Vikings Game-Watching Ritual. I’m kind of the best wife ever, not only letting him take over the TV for a few hours when I could be watching Project Runway marathons, but also making him game-day food. Yes, I’m gloating. As a (albeit lukewarm) Bears fan having lived with an obsessive Vikings fan for over a year, I think I’ve earned my right to do so.
But back to the pretzels. It took me multiple tries to get the twisting right (a few look like strangled pretzels, while others are just ugly blobs), but I eventually figured it out. The dough rose incredibly well and the boiling/baking process was really easy. The hardest part was keeping myself from eating them right away (a burnt tongue never killed anyone).
And Percy? Well…
I guess he’s more patient than I am.
Debrief: The pretzels will look ugly after being submerged in the baking soda bath. Don’t worry — this is normal. They’ll look less wrinkly once they’ve been baked (but there’s no saving the ones that are shaped nothing like pretzels).
Soft Pretzels
Courtesy of Michael Knock, the Iowa City Press-Citizen
Yields: 8 pretzels
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp salt
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp water
Kosher or pretzel salt (or sesame seeds or Parmesan cheese) for dusting the pretzels (or sea salt, as I used)
Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, sugar and yeast. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until slightly foamy. Add in melted butter, flour and salt and, using the dough hook, knead for about 4-5 minutes or until the dough is cohesive and has pulled away completely from the edges of the bowl. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
When the dough is nearly doubled, bring to a boil the 10 cups water and baking soda. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and line two baking sheets with lightly oiled parchment paper. In a small bowl, beat together egg yolk and water for the egg wash. When dough is risen, remove from the bowl and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a 2-foot long rope and twist into a pretzel shape, pinching the edges to keep them from coming apart.
Using a turner, place one pretzel at a time into the baking soda bath and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the bath and place on parchment paper. Brush each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle with salt or topping of your choice. Once all pretzels have been boiled, bake for about 12-14 minutes or until a deep brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating.
Oh wow, soft pretzels!!! My favorite, these look delicious 🙂
Very cute. Matt can’t wait to meet him. The pretzels look outstanding. Are you freezing some for us to take home? 🙂
You went through with the kitten thing! So beautiful. And Percy is a perfect cat name (and it leaves Dexter available for our first born).
You need to create the perfect cheese sauce to dip these gourmet pretzels in. I’m not talking mall-quality queso here. I want something delicious that won’t result in the runs.
I love you and want to play with Percy. Purrrrrr.
I love that you mentioned the runs in your comment. And I love you, too.
I don’t think I’ve had a soft pretzel since high school. Which is extremely unfortunate. I used to eat them almost every day with some nacho cheese. One of the few things I miss from those days.
Hi Steph! Just realized it’s been forever since I checked your blog. I’m so out of the blogging loop right now, and I don’t even have a kitten to blame (ok, so I guess I do have a boyfriend to blame). These look amazing! And I’m glad to hear you are such an amazing wife to my dear brother! 😛 Love you!
These were a delicious addition to my weekend. Seriously addictive, and I’ve been sharing the recipe with friends.
Glad to hear, Dana! Thanks!
I think you need to add the salt with the flour rather than to the water. It killed my yeast 🙁
Sad! Yeah, I’ve heard that salt and yeast don’t always mix well, though I didn’t seem to have a problem when making it. Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you!
The dough just isnt rising. Ill run out of patience soon and make them anyway. Ill let you know how they turn out.
Those look delicious! Can you please explain what a turner is though? Thank you!
Kerry — By turner I mean a pancake turner, or one of those flat spatulas with the grates in them that you use to flip things like, well, pancakes. We call it a “flipper” in my house 🙂 Hope that helps!
Perfect! Thank you!
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