Soft Pretzels

Here's another throwback for you guys! This was one of the very first real yeasty "bread" recipes I ever made, and one of the first ones on this blog! HEYO! I'm such a sucker for soft pretzels... hellooo Auntie Anne's! This dough recipe can be loaded up with any topping — cinnamon sugar, icing, mustard, everything mix — whatever you want. Just make sure to brush with the egg, sprinkle liberally (including salt! always salt!), then bake to perfection. Surprisingly, these pretzels don't take very long at all. With a 45-minute rise, then a boil and a bake, you can have fresh soft pretzels in just over an hour! WINNING! Enjoy! xo

The rest of this post is from waaaay back when!

Life tips. Here we go. Based on lessons learned this week:

1: Don't put in your contacts after cutting onions. Ever. Even if you wash your hands. Ouch.

2: Hide vegetables in your smoothies. You'll never taste them and you'll feel like superwoman.

3: Don't make pretzels unless you're fully prepared to become addicted and therefore make them every single week.

We spent most of last Saturday commiserating over our upset tummies, due to some strange and mysterious food poisoning. Needless to say, we didn't eat a whole lot. Once Sunday rolled around and we were feeling much better, all I wanted were some soft, chewy, CARBS! I take this as a sign that carbs are good for us, and therefore we shouldn't restrict them with silly fad diets. Clearly my body wants them, so clearly it's gonna get them!

First I thought: BAGELS! Then I realized I'd have to make them Sunday and wait until Monday for them to be ready to bake. Lame. I mean, totally worth it if you have the patience, but at this particular moment: I did not. Second best: PRETZELS! Winner winner, chicken dinner.

I'd never made pretzels before, but I knew they were fairly simple. After browsing a few different recipes, and watching Joy the Baker's excellent video, I jumped right in. Easy stuff — and relatively quick! In a couple of hours I was munching on chewy, salty, mustardy goodness — and was all the happier because of it.

Not only did I enjoy some salty pretzel goodness, but I also made some with cinnamon sugar on them! YES! These were seriously addicting. First you eat a salty one with mustard, then you HAVE to have dessert with a cinnamon/sugar pretzel! Obviously I was thinking ahead.

The shaping was really quite easy, but I recommend watching Joy's video if the collage here doesn't quite do it for ya.

Soft Pretzels

• Author: Adapted from Alton Brown
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 8 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 ½ cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, about 4 ½ cups
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 8 cups water
• ¼ cup baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoon milk
• Pretzel toppings, including salt, smoked salt, cinnamon sugar, or anything you can dream of!

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Instructions

1. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large mixing bowl and allow to proof for 5 minutes.
2. When the mixture is foamy, add the flour, salt, and melted butter all at once. Mix with a dough hook, or knead by hand, for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and firm to the touch. Dough should not be sticky.
3. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
4. Remove the risen dough from the bowl, and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 24″ rope, shape into a pretzel, and then place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
5. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add baking soda, and then carefully boil each pretzel. They will puff up a bit, so make sure not to overcrowd your pot. I did two at a time, for about 60 seconds on each side.
7. When they are done boiling, remove the pretzels from the water gently and place them on the parchment-lined cookie sheet.
8. Lightly brush with the egg/milk mixture, and immediately top with your chosen seasonings. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until they’re browned and cracking open. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

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