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id 754
Name Soft Pretzels
Main Dish Category Snacks
Secondary Dish Category Side Dish,
Main Ingredient Flour
Other Ingredient Yeast
Number of People 8
List of Ingredients NOTE: The doubled values are in parentheses at the end of each ingredient line!

1 1/2 cups warm (110-115 degree) water (3 cups)

1 Tbsp sugar (2 Tbsp)

2 tsp kosher salt (4 tsp)

1 3/4 tsp instant yeast (3 1/2 tsp)

22 oz all purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups (44 oz = 2 lbs 12 oz)

2 oz unsalted butter, melted (4 oz)

Vegetable oil, for pan

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tbsp water (2 yolks, 2 Tbsp water)

Pretzel Salt
Description Combine flour, sugar, and yeast in bowl of stand mixer. With dough hook attached, turn mixer on lowest speed and begin mixing to distribute yeast evenly throughout flour. Slowly stream in water, then butter. Dough should begin to come together, and remain on the dough hook. If it is not sticking to dough hook or is not coming together, add water 1 Tbsp at a time until the dough just comes together. When you have a ball of dough, turn mixer off and sprinkle salt over the dough. 



Turn mixer on to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from teh side of the bowl, 5 minutes. Do not leave the mixer alone because it will walk. Remove dough from bowl, clean the bowl and oil it well with vegetable oil. REturn the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap sprayed with Pam or oiled with vegetable oil, and allow dough to sit in a warm place for approximately 50-55 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.



Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil. Set aside.



Bring 10 cups of water and baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan.



In the meantime, turn dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form a pretzel shape. Place on parchment-lined pan.



OR, TO MAKE PRETZEL ROLLS: divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Cut each piece into four small, but equal sized pieces, so you have 32 pieces total. Then roll each into a ball, using a lot of pressure. If you do not use a lot of pressure, the pieces will blossom in the water bath and it will no longer look like a roll. Do not worry about making the pieces smaller or deflating them. You can't. The water bath will help them to puff up again. If you press too hard and are uncomfortable with the size of the pieces, simply allow them to rise for 10-15 minutes before proceeding wtih the water bath.



Place pretzels into the boiling water bath, one by one for shaped pretzels, or 4 at a time for the smaller rolls. Remove them after 60 seconds. PLace them on the lined sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk & water mixture and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown (they will look burned), approximately 12-14 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. Spend 5 long minutes staring at them while your mouth waters. If your 3-year-old is misbehaving, you can punish him by putting him in a spot where he can smell the pretzels, but refuse to allow him to touch the pretzels.
Time 30 min prep, 1 hour inactive, 25 min cook
Cooking Type Bake
Difficulty (1-5) 3
Notes Serve these with horseradish mustard (found elsewhere in the database) or with the following recipe for the yummiest cheese dip ever:



Combine 2 pkg cream cheese, 1/3 cup beer, 1 envelope dry ranch dressing and 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. I whip it with an electric mixer, and I always use 1/3 less fat cream cheese, because 1) it makes it -- ahem -- "healthier" and 2) 1/3 less cream cheese is softer than regular cream cheese, which allows you to skip the whole bring-it-to-room-temperature step.
Origin Alton Brown
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