Second recipe of the day: soft pretzels!!
Joel & I are enjoying a quiet day around the house (aka he fell asleep watching movies and I'm perusing Pinterest for more recipes), & I'm trying to decide what we can do as a cheap date night. Maybe see a movie? But if we see a movie, I have to get a pretzel. Actually, screw the movie, I'm much more interested in the pretzels.
Took this recipe from The Food Network and went boldly where I have never baked before: yeast. I'll admit, as a newbie, I was a little nervous to try it out, but in the spirit of my New Year's Resolution, I gave it a shot.
They're quite yummy-- I interrupted Joel's nap for his approval as well.
Before you toss 'em in the oven, the recipe recommends brushing them with an egg yolk/water mixture. I may have used too much, because the baked pretzels have a mild case of jaundice. Oh well. As it wast first ever attempt, I'd say it went pretty well. Next time, I'd either dilute the egg yolk with a little extra water or use a little less.
(Note: if you try this recipe, make sure you don't add the baking soda to already boiling water. Or do. It's a bit of a -messy- science experiment.
Soft Pretzels
- 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
- 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 water
- Pretzel salt
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| You can see that they turned out a little yellow from the egg yolk |
- Instructions
- 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 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
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