Homemade soft pretzels, start to finish less than 1 hour!
2011
Over the summer I collected over 50 cooking magazines from a Mom in my area looking to de-clutter – I was happy to take Cooking Light, Rachel Ray, Bon Appetit, etc… Looking through the magazines the other day I was reading a 2009 October Rachel Ray Magazine and found a recipe for these pretzels. After reading the ingredients and steps to make them I thought – “I think I can do that”!
You do use yeast, but you don’t have to wait hours to let the dough rise – so that is why these come together so quickly. I am not going to lie, my daughter Claire and I sat on the floor of the kitchen looking into the oven as these baked and as they became more looking like pretzels – we got so excited. These are soft pretzels – and since they were pretty much gone in one day, the next time I think I’ll double or triple the recipe!
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons table salt
1 large egg, separated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons baking sodaCoarse salt, for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and yeast; let stand for 5 minutes.
Using a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, brown sugar and table salt. Mix in the egg yolk, butter and yeast mixture on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
In a large, shallow baking dish, combine the baking soda with 2 cups warm water. On a work surface, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll out each piece into a rope about 42 inches long; dip in the baking soda mixture for 30 seconds. Using the prepared pans as a work surface, shape each rope into a pretzel.
In a small bowl, beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the pretzels with the egg white mixture. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and bake until deep golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
******
I got better and better at rolling out the dough with each one. I didn’t measure the 42″ that the recipe said. I just rolled it out long enough to make a good sized pretzel.
The good thing about this dough is that it does not stick to the counter when you roll it out, so it’s not necessary to keep flouring the surface while you are rolling it out into a rope.
Some other add ins: You can dip these in cinnamon & sugar OR parmesan cheese to dip in marinara sauce.
You can also take 2 ropes and twist them together like this:
These were so much fun to make – if you’ve never tried it before you can’t mess this up – it’s that easy 
Have you ever made pretzels before??
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I’m pretty sure we made that exact pretzel recipe from the Rachael magazine when it came out! J’s SIL had bookmarked it and we made it when we went over to their house. I was surprised how easy it turned out and they were really chewy and doughy and delicious!
Dinner at Christina’s recently posted..Weekend Pumpkin Pancakes
Looks good Jenn! Call me when you can . . .
Biz recently posted..Best Deep Dish Pizza Recipe. Ever! And Holiday Challenge Update
These look good, I will have to give this recipe a try. I attempted pretzels once and they were horrible.
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PRINT.
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Those look great Jenn!!!! I’ve bookmarked this one for future reference. Hope you are doing well!!!
Roz recently posted..My Happy Place
one word…making. Thanks for sharing!
Oooh. I don’t really like hard pretzels, but I have a soft heart for the soft ones. I really want to make it too, but stuffed with cheese. Hee hee!
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