I love soft pretzels. There’s nothing quite like the firm exterior coupled with that pillowy interior. Back in April when we were all still stuck inside my younger sister wanted pretzels for iftar. She found an Alton Brown recipe and asked me for help getting them made. Since I was already on a mission to get comfortable baking with yeast I was happy to oblige.
When trying a new recipe, I prefer to make a half batch in case of a disaster. I have to hand it to Mr. Brown; these soft pretzels were foolproof and delicious. I’ve made these a few times now and I prefer making a half batch. I still get a yield of 8 pretzels like the original recipe, but I’ve sized down the individual pretzels. I find the slightly smaller pretzels easier to shape and work with. Bonus I don’t feel guilty eating two!
Soft Pretzels Sized Just Right
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cups warm water - 110°F to 115°F
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1⅛ tsp instant or active dry yeast (½ of a standard packet) -
- 11 ounces (2¼ c) all-purpose flour - or about
- 1 ounce (2 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
- neutral oil - canola, vegetable
- 5 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp water -
METHOD
Prepping the Dough
- Combine WATER, SUGAR, and SALT in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle YEAST on top. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes, or until foamy.Add FLOUR and BUTTER to bowl. Mix on LOW speed with Dough Hook until well combined. Knead until Dough is smooth and pulling away from the side of the bowl (about 5 minutes).Remove Dough from the bowl. Wipe bowl CLEAN. Coat bowl with OIL. Return dough to the bowl.Cover and put in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise to double in size, about 50 minutes.
Shaping and Cooking the Pretzels
- Preheat oven to 450°FBring water and baking soda to a rolling boil Line a baking sheet with Parchment paperTurn dough out onto an oiled surface.Divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion of dough into a rope by hand. The length isn’t important. Just make sure the dough is distributed evenly throughout.Make the rope into a “U” and cross the ends over each other. Press ends into the bottom of “U” to complete the pretzel shape.Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.Using a large flat spatula put one pretzel into boiling water for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, take out of the water and put back onto the baking sheetBrush the top of each pretzel with egg yolk mixture. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.Put the baking sheet into the preheated oven on the middle rack until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutesTransfer to a cooling rack and try to wait 5 minutes before eating.
