Pretzels
I use Gaby Dalkin’s recipe with a few adjustments. They are super easy to make if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, but it’s not needed.
Expect 1 hour of dough rising time, so they’ll take 1.5 - 1.75 hours total to make.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 4.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
To cook
- Parchment paper or vegetable oil for baking sheets
- 10 cups water
- ⅔ cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Some type of coarse salt
Procedure
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In a bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and active dry yeast. Let it sit for a few minutes until it foams.
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Add the flour, salt, and melted butter. Form a dough and knead it until smooth (either by hand or with the dough hook).
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Let the dough rest, covered, in a well-oiled bowl (you can use the same bowl from step 1!) until it doubles in size (approximately 1 hour).
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Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
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Bring the 10 cups of water with the baking soda to a boil in a large pot.
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Prepare the baking sheets with parchment paper or just oil them.
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Meanwhile, cut the risen dough into equal pieces. Roll them into small cylinders and form the pretzels (knot-shaped pretzels are awesome too).
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Using a large spatula, place the pretzels into the boiling water for less than a minute.
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Once each pretzel has gone through the baking soda bath, place them on the baking sheets. Brush the tops with beaten yolk + water mixture and sprinkle with salt.
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Bake them for a maximum of 15 minutes.