Week 23 – Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels
I know that it isn’t summer just yet, but I’m craving all of the summer vibes, and these pretzels fit the bill for sure!
Buttery, soft, with that salty goodness! These are great for poolside snacks, listening to the ball game on the radio!
Making the pretzel shape gets easier the more you do it. My first batch came out looking pretty off, I think only one or two actually LOOKED like a pretzel. But I got up the next morning determined to try it again and all of those pretzels looked great, even if they were just a little over proofed.
I used my handy KitchenAid stand mixer, but you could do this by hand, with a food processor, or even with a bread machine. In the VIDEO I used my mixer, but the next morning I used the bread machine.
I hope you find the try to give this recipe a try, it was a total hit here at my house!
Details
8 Pretzels
20 minutes
8-10 minutes
Print
Ingredients
- Dough
2 1/2 cups (300g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (6g) table salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup (198g to 227g) water
- Topping
1 cup (227g) water, boiling
2 tablespoons (28g) baking soda
coarse, kosher or pretzel salt, optional
3 tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
Directions
- To make dough by hand or with a mixer: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for 5 to 8 minutes, until it’s soft, smooth, and elastic, then proceed to step 4.
- To make dough with a bread machine: Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, program the machine for dough or manual, and press Start. Allow the dough to go through its kneading cycle, then proceed to step 4.
- To make dough with a food processor: Place the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the work bowl of a food processor equipped with the steel blade. Process for 5 seconds. Add the water and process for 7 to 10 seconds, until the dough starts to clear the sides of the bowl. Process a further 45 seconds, then proceed to step 4.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 30 minutes.
- To make the topping: While the dough is rising, prepare the topping. Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost totally) dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm (or cooler).
- Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil spray, or lining it with parchment paper.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g each).
- Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Pour the baking soda/water into a 9″ square pan.
- Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28″ to 30″ long), and twist each rope into a pretzel shape. Working with four pretzels at a time, place them in the pan with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda bath will give the pretzels lovely golden-brown color.
- Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.
- Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.
