Description
Here is a soft pretzel recipe for you. No segue. This is a post about kindness and pretzels.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 and 1/2 cups warm water (just warm from your faucet)
- 1 packet active yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the counter
- 1 large egg, beaten
- course sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir with a spoon until mostly mixed – there will still be some small clumps. Add salt and sugar and stir it until it’s pretty well combined. Add flour 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough is thick. Continue to add more flour until dough is no longer sticky. At this point, I stopped using a spoon and used my hands so that i could work the ingredients together thoroughly. If you poke the dough and it rises back, then you’re all set to start kneading.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 3-5 minutes and shape into a ball. The better you knead, the better your pretzels will be. I suggest setting your microwave timer.
- With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough into 1/3 cup sections. As a guide, I cut pieces that were approximately 3/4 the size of my palm. This isn’t an exact science though. These pretzels can be any size you want.
- Roll the dough into a rope with an even diameter. My ropes came out about 18-20 inches long. Once you have your long rope, take the ends and draw them together so the dough forms a circle. Twist the ends around twice, then bring them towards yourself and press them down into the circle.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg. I used a brush to apply the egg wash. Some recipes might suggest dunking, but I find using a brush allows you to neaten up the shape of your pretzel a bit. Plus the dough will be difficult to lift while keeping its shape that you worked so hard on.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425F degrees. Turn the oven to broil and bake for 5 more minutes to brown the tops. Watch closely to avoid burning but let them get a healthy brown. I will say the thicker and bigger your pretzel, the softer the inside will be. Setting the oven to broil will harden the outside of your pretzels.
- Let them cool and then dunk them in something. I’ll be sharing an amazing dip later this week!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Baking