thanks to a tweet from xeni jardin i discovered that homemade soft pretzels are easy to bake and while i try to live a pretty-much-mostly-gluten-free lifestyle i love a soft pretzel as much as anyone else, so i had to give it a try. and, yes, they are ridiculously easy to make. and super tasty.
Soft pretzels from scratch are easy. I've had @jlw's, they're unreal. Here, he shows you how. http://t.co/GQYS2m993W pic.twitter.com/uLk3sHxpDj
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) November 16, 2014
odin and discovered that the only thing better than a soft pretzel straight out of the oven is one slathered in melted organic valley butter 🙂
here is the recipe we followed. king arthur has a similar sourdough pretzel recipe that i’m going to have to try soon.
Jason and Hannah’s pretzel recipe
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups AP or bread flour
Âľ cup of warm water
1 tsp bread yeast
1 Tbs brown sugar
â…› tsp salt
Additionally: Baking Soda, and Salt
Pre-heat your oven to 400ÂşF.
Mix yeast and brown sugar in the Âľ cup of warm water and let proof for 10 minutes.
Put flour and salt in large mixing bowl. Add liquid. Knead until the ball of dough has picked up all the loose flour and is smooth.
Start a 3-5 quart pot of water boiling. Add 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda. Let boil.
Roll out pretzels. I suggest taking golf ball sized balls of dough and rolling them in your hand until the string of dough is about the diameter of a grease pencil or sharpie. Then twist into pretzels.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or your favorite non-stick method. Boil pretzels in the baking soda water mixture for 10-15 seconds each. My rule is to let them sink to the bottom and then retrieve a few seconds after they float to the surface. Place the pretzels on the baking sheet.
Immediately before placing in the oven, sprinkle with salt to your preference. Bake for 18-19 minutes.