Soft Pretzels

We are snowed in today with a lot of soup and stew in the fridge (which I also definitely need to add to this blog soon). So I thought I'd try my hand at these pretzels I saw Alton Brown make on Good Eats a couple of months ago. And let me tell you... They are fabulous. They are a bit labor-intensive, but I think they're worth every step.

The only thing I changed from the original recipe is that I used coarse kosher salt instead of pretzel salt. The kosher-salt-covered pretzels looked and felt the same as pretzel-salt-covered ones do, and I noticed that they didn't have that intense salt flavor that pretzel salt gives, so I think I actually liked them better with the kosher salt.

I guess you could say I also changed the size since I didn't have the counter space to roll the pretzel dough out to 24 inches before twisting them up. So I made smaller ones, which made for a little less time in the oven (and even more pretzels).

One other thing that you have to make sure to do before putting the pretzels in the baking soda bath is to make sure that the dough is properly stuck together in its pretzel shape so that it won't fall apart in the bath. Just pinch the dough where it comes together. Don't worry about making indentations, they puff up in the bathing/baking process. If the dough does fall out of its pretzel shape, you can just reshape it when it comes out, and it'll solidify into its shape while it bakes.

Homemade Soft Pretzels
A variation on this recipe by Alton Brown



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 (half a stick) unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel (or coarse kosher) salt

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 450ºF. 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. Use a pizza cutter to cut off pieces of dough and roll out each piece of dough into a thin 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 salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.