Ok, I named these "slow + easy soft pretzels" because I wanted you to know these take time, but are not difficult to make.
This recipe uses yeast, so there's a short 5 minute wait and then a longer hour waiting period for the dough to rise.
But trust me, these are worth the wait - and be ready to eat them fresh from the oven.
In my opinion, that's the only way to eat these.
They are excellent with a nice cold beer - we chose to eat ours with the Haboob Hefewezen from our local brewery, Tall City Brewing.
Slow soft pretzels with local beer from Tall City Brewing Co.
SLOW SOFT PRETZELS
Prep Time: 70 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
INGREDIENTS (8+):
milk (1 c)
yeast (1 packet or ~3/4 tbsp)
brown sugar (3 tbsp)
butter, melted (2 tbsp)
flour (2 1/2 cups)
salt (1 tsp)
-
baking soda (1/4 c)
water, warm (2 cups)
- seasoning of choice/coarse salt/sesame seeds (optional)
butter for finishing (optional)
sauce for dipping (ex. mustard) (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
-Heat milk in the microwave or on the stove top until it becomes warm, or around 110F.
I heated mine in the microwave for 1 minute.
-Pour warmed milk and yeast in a bowl and whisk until the yeast dissolves. Then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
-Add brown sugar, melted butter, 1 cup of flour, and salt to the yeast/milk mixture and blend evenly.
-Add the remaining flour to the mixture and knead in to mix evenly.
You may need to add in additional flour until the dough stops sticking to the bowl and your hands.
-Cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap or a cloth towel and let the dough rise for an hour in a warm place.
-Toward the end of the hour, preheat the oven to 450F and prepare baking sheets with greased parchment paper.
-Mix baking soda and warm water in a shallow bowl.
-After the hour is complete, uncover the dough and knead one more time to let out any air.
-Break off pieces of dough and roll out into strands to make the shapes you desire. This recipe made 8 pretzels for us - you can always double the batch if you want to make more!
-Once the dough is rolled out, dip it into the baking soda water bath, let the water drip off quickly, then place on the baking sheet in formation.
I found it easiest to dip the dough in the baking soda bath as a long strand, and then shape it on the baking sheet.
-Top pretzels with any desired seasonings.
You can go sweet or savory here - we went savory with some salt + herbs de Provence.
-Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges reach a golden brown.
-Optional - brush pretzels with melted butter and/or serve with dipping sauce.
I skipped the butter coating at the end, but served with honey dijon mustard.
-Dig in!
Immediately, while they're still warm! :)
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