Soft Pretzels

And with Brian's post on Sandwich Bread, I've begun my journey through too many yeast doughs. We did pizza dough a while back, but that's a very simple dough compared to the next few weeks. To those of you who don't think you can have too many yeast doughs, you have not spent a whole weekend making them. There can be too many.

There's no ingredient shot, but trust me when I say that it would include: water, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, butter, vegetable oil, baking soda, and egg.

Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water with salt and sugar and let it sit until it gets a little frothy.

Melt the butter, in the microwave is fine, and let it cool down a bit.

Add the butter and flour, and mix in a standing mixer with the dough hook until it all comes together.

Scrape down the sides, kick the mixer up a notch and keep on mixing until the dough is smooth.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until it's doubled in size. About an hour. Preheat the oven to piping hot (450 F), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the mean time, bring a big pot of water to a boil with baking soda. 

Break the dough into about 6 equal bits and roll them out into two-foot long ropes. Form those into pretzel shape and place on the parchment paper.

Throw the pretzels, one at a time, in the boiling water for about half a minute. 

Take them out, paint them with an egg wash, and salt them with kosher or pretzel salt. Throw them in the oven for 14 minutes, or until they look like this.

Serve with mustard.

Ingredients:

8 ounces of warm water

2 tsp sugar

1.5 tsp kosher salt, plus extra for topping

2/3 package of dry yeast

14 ounces of flour

1 1/3 ounces melted butter

water and baking soda for boiling

Procedure:

Mix water, sugar salt, and yeast. Let it sit and get frothy. 

Mix in the flour and butter, and stir in a standing mixer with a dough hook until the dough comes together. 

Scrape down the sides, turn the mixer up a notch, and mix until it gets smooth.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, and let it rise for an hour, until its doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450, and boil water with baking soda.

Turn out the dough, cut into six equal bits, and roll out into long ropes. Fold the ropes into pretzels.

Boil each pretzel for 30 seconds. Then coat with an egg wash, and salt. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown.