Last week my brother and I took a cooking class at our local grocery store. First we made humus from scratch, then we made fluffy, soft pretzels. Ever since the class we've been begging our mom to cook either or both of those. Today turned out to be the perfect baking day thanks to the rain!
Our first batch was sprinkled with salt and seeds. My mom and I made classic pretzel shapes. Clifford tied a lovely knot and also made a clamshell (not pictured).
Our second batch was covered in cinnamon sugar. I wish you could smell our house through this blog! Two were in pretzel shapes, one was an R for Retta ... but I ate most of it before my mom had a chance to snap a picture.
Prep Time: 30 min
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min (use this time to work on your line dancing, if you want)
Cook Time: 25 min
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 8 pretzels
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon waterPretzel salt (we used regular, chunky sea salt) or Cinnamon Sugar or BOTH
Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
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