Pretzels

We haven't made pretzels for quite a while. It's a rather time-consuming production. But a couple of weeks ago we went to the mall (looking for maternity clothes--didn't get anything) and split a soft pretzel, and when we got home Doug decided that we needed more pretzels. And of course I decided that we needed pictures.

Here's the recipe:

(oven at 425 F)

Dough:
2 tsp dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2½ cups white flour (+ up to 1 cup more)  (King Arthur Bread flour is really good)
2 Tb vegetable oil (note: if you're doubling the recipe, 4 Tb is 1⁄4 cup.)
1 Tb sugar

(We almost always double the recipe, and use honey instead of sugar.  Probably less than a tablespoon.)

Baking soda bath:
6 cups water
6 Tb baking soda

Coarse salt for sprinkling

Bake at  425° F for 8-12 minutes

Dissolve yeast in water. Add flour, oil, sugar. Beat well to make a smooth batter. Gradually stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough, only slightly sticky. Turn onto floured surface, knead until no longer sticky, dusting with flour as necessary. Turn dough into greased bowl; cover and let rise for 1 hour. (You can do this part in a bread maker on the dough cycle, too. It takes a bit of attention to get the extra flour added properly and get the texture right before the kneading cycle ends.)

Punch down dough, turn out onto floured surface. Divide into 12 balls (or whatever you want), roll into a long rope, and shape as desired. Thin pretzels will be crispier and thick pretzels will be bready and chewy. Place onto well-greased baking sheet (or parchment paper).



The rolling-out part was rather tricky for Kate, but she enjoyed playing with the dough.



My "over-achiever" pretzel.

When the pretzels are all shaped, let them sit to rise a little more. Put 6 cups of water in a (non-aluminum) pan, with 6 Tb of baking soda. Heat until simmering. Turn down to maintain a gentle simmer. Preheat oven to 425° . (Update: Lately I've been turning on the oven and putting the water on to boil before I start shaping the pretzels, since the rolling-out part usually goes fairly quickly and I've discovered I don't like the texture quite as well if I let them rise too long.)



Lower pretzels into baking soda bath, simmer 10 seconds per side, then remove carefully and drain briefly. You can try using two slotted spoons. (Doug says there ought to be some sort of handy kitchen gadget for this.) Place boiled pretzels back onto well-greased baking sheet (or use greased parchment paper, or non-stick foil with cooking spray--but you need something because they will stick). I usually dunk two at a time, will do four at a time if they're on the smaller side.



Sprinkle pretzels with coarse salt.

You can just bake them without doing the baking soda bath, but you'd be missing out.  I never skip this step.  In addition to a  nice chewy crust., it just gives them a little something extra in the flavor. 

Bake 8-12 minutes, till golden brown.  I often turn them over for the last couple of minutes. 



Kate brushes the finished pretzels with melted butter. This is not part of the recipe, but it sounded like a good idea.




Doug shows off his traditionally-shaped pretzel.



Eat warm. Yummy!