Soft Pretzels

I have been slowly branching out into the world of yeast. Trying to build up to a point of confidence to conquer loaves of bread. In the meantime, until I feel ready to to handle that, I am having lots of fun with the little yeast adventures. So far I have made angel biscuits (which came out so delicious and perfect), garlic knots (which were very good, but not amazing), and now soft pretzels! I love soft pretzels, and these came out pretty good. My one complaint is that they don't last, I mean a soft pretzel from the store, still tastes good and soft at room temperature, these HAVE to be eaten hot. They re-heat nicely though, so problem semi-solved. My absolute favorite part of making the pretzels was parboiling them, they puff up like crazy and it's really fun to watch. My least favorite part was twisting them into the shape, I found this pretty hard, and not all of them came out so pretty, next time I think I would just make nubs. Looks aside, when hot, they tasted amazing!



Soft Pretzels:
1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 degrees)
1 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp of salt
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of bread flour
1 heaping tbsp of baking soda
Water for boiling
1 tbsp of butter
sea salt for sprinkling

In a large bowl whisk yeast into warm water. Add in brown sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Put flour in the bowl of the food processor (or stand mixer with paddle attachment) fitted with dough blade and pour the water-yeast mixture over it. Blend until a dough forms. Knead with dough blade (or dough hooks if using a mixer) for about 5 minutes, adding more flour or water if necessary, the dough should be slightly tacky. Remove from the mixer/processor and knead dough a few times by hand and then shape into a ball. Wash out and oil the bowl from before, and put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise somewhere warm until it has doubled in size, about an hour. Cut dough into 12 equal sections (or less if you want larger pretzels). Line 2 cookie sheet with parchment. Roll out each section of dough into a long snake about 1/2 inch thick. Twist into a pretzel shape (or cut into nubs) and lay on parchment. Repeat with remaining dough. Let the pretzels rest for 20 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil. Scoop in the heaping tablespoon of baking soda. Drop the pretzels in, 3 at a time (more or less depending on the size of your pot), enough so that they have enough space to reach the surface. Boil for 2 minutes, then flip the pretzels over and boil for another two minutes. Return pretzels to parchment and repeat until all pretzels have been parboiled. Melt the butter, and brush the tops of the pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until the pretzels are golden brown, switching the top and bottom rows halfway through, about 20 minutes total. Serve immediately from the oven, or re-heat in a toaster or a 350 degree oven before serving. (adapted from Sprinkles of Parsley)



Happy Eating.