Pretzels
Although donuts are my favorite sweet guilty pleasure, pretzels are my salty go to treat. Again, the best pretzels I had were during the time I lived in Germany. I told you, they've got baking down to an art! One day I was scrolling through my Instagram when I stumbled upon Jennifer Garner making pretzels using Alton Brown's recipe. I've always been hesitant to make them because of the steps it takes. It's not as simple as making bread. There are many more steps and so many more chances to mess it up. Although they are not the best pretzels I've eaten, for the first go around, I think they were edible and yummy in their own way!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
22 oz AP flour (appx. 4 1/2 cups)
2 oz unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 lg egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water
Directions:
Combine water, sugar and salt in bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 mins, until mixture begins to foam.
Add flour and butter and, using dough hook attachment and mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until dough is smooth and pulls away from side of the bowl, appx. 4-5 mins. Remove dough from bowl, clean bowl and oil it well with vegetable oil. Return dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for appx. 50-55 mins, until dough has doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring 10 cups of water and baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8qt saucepan.
In the meantime, turn dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces (I chose to do what Jen did and make 16 although I could totally go for bigger ones next time). Roll out each piece of dough into a rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding 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 parchment-lined pan.
Place pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1 (I managed to fit 3 in but I was using a huge pot), for 30 seconds. Remove them from water using a large flat spatula. Return to the pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, appx. 12-14 mins. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 mins before serving.
Enjoy with your favorite cheese or mustard spread or on it's own!
