This time of year brings us Father’s Day and everyone starts thinking of gifts to get their dad and the other men in their lives who should be honored on the day. My thoughts turn to my father who has been dead for 16 years now. While the loss is an old one that does not mean it sometimes does not come around and surprise me anew. I will be celebrating my dad in a post next week but today I want to share a soft pretzels recipe I think he would really like.
Soft Pretzels Recipe
Makes 6-9
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast ( 1 1/2 tsp)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat or whole wheat flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp molasses
5 TBS vegetable oil, divided
2 tsp salt
4 TBS baking soda
2 quarts water
pretzel salt
4 TBS unsalted butter, melted
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached add the warm water and sprinkle the yeast over top. Let sit until the yeast softens.
Add the flours, sugar, molasses, salt and 1 TBS of the oil.
Mix until the dough comes together. It will be a little stiff.
Add the dough hook and knead until the dough just comes together OR pull the dough from the bowl and knead by hand until the dough just comes together.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover and let sit until until doubles in volume – 30 to 45 minutes
Cover two baking sheets with foil, shiny side down. Spray with cooking spray
Remove dough from bowl and cut in three pieces and then each third into three pieces. If you have a scale weigh the pieces so they are of equal size
Roll each piece into a rope about 24″ long.
Take the rope and make a U
Twist the ends together, twist again and then bring them down to form the classic pretzel shape.Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, cover and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes until doubled in size.
About halfway through Preheat the oven to 450°
Add the 2 quarts of water to a large pot and stir in the baking soda.
Heat until just boiling and remove from heat.
Melt the butter with the remaining 4 TBS vegetable oil and set aside.
When the pretzels have finished their rise take them one at a time and drop into the water. Turn it over then remove with a slotted spoon and return to the baking sheet. Repeat with all of the pretzels.
Sprinkle with the coarse salt.
Bake in the preheated oven for 4 minutes and then rotate the baking sheets and bake for another 4 -6 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown.
Let cool on the baking sheets for a short period.
Dip the pretzels into the butter/oil mixture and cool completely on a wire rack
How Was the Soft Pretzel Recipe?
I adapted this from my favorite bread cookbook, Secrets of a Jewish Baker. This is the first time I’ve made soft pretzels! I’ve made pretzel hot dog buns and pretzel hamburger buns but never just plain, ole soft pretzels.
I liked them but I am going to continue my explorations in pretzel making. Much like my homemade donut odyssey I am sure there is more than one way to make a soft pretzel. I do love to play with recipes. I will enjoy these and then I will go in search of another way to make them. I’ll let you know.
My dad would like them, of that I am sure. He always loved anything I made for him from my first Easy Bake Oven cakes to the fancier things I cooked for him later in life. That’s what dads do, isn’t it?
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Soft Pretzels Recipe
A version of a soft pretzel
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 53 mins
- Yield: 6-9 1x
- Category: Bread
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast ( 1 1/2 tsp)
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat or whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp molasses
- 5 TBS vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 TBS baking soda
- 2 quarts water
- pretzel salt
- 4 TBS unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached add the warm water and sprinkle the yeast over top. Let sit until the yeast softens.
- Add the flours, sugar, molasses, salt and 1 TBS of the oil.
- Mix until the dough comes together. It will be a little stiff.
- Add the dough hook and knead until the dough just comes together OR pull the dough from the bowl and knead by hand until the dough just comes together.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover and let sit until until doubles in volume – 30 to 45 minutes
- Cover two baking sheets with foil, shiny side down. Spray with cooking spray
- Remove dough from bowl and cut in three pieces and then each third into three pieces. If you have a scale weigh the pieces so they are of equal size
- Roll each piece into a rope about 24″ long.
- Take the rope and make a U
- Twist the ends together, twist again and then bring them down to form the classic pretzel shape.
- Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, cover and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes until doubled in size.
- About halfway through Preheat the oven to 450°
- Add the 2 quarts of water to a large pot and stir in the baking soda.
- Heat until just boiling and remove from heat.
- Melt the butter with the remaining 4 TBS vegetable oil and set aside.
- When the pretzels have finished their rise take them one at a time and drop into the water. Turn it over then remove with a slotted spoon and return to the baking sheet. Repeat with all of the pretzels.
- Sprinkle with the coarse salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 4 minutes and then rotate the baking sheets and bake for another 4 -6 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown.
- Let cool on the baking sheets for a short period.
- Dip the pretzels into the butter/oil mixture and cool completely on a wire rack
