Do you remember the first time you tasted a warm, pillowy, buttery, salty pretzel? For some of us, that first delicious bite came from an Auntie Anne's. Once the aroma of freshly baked pretzels was detected, it is almost impossible to restrain oneself from following that heavenly scent to the store's door. Many years back, it was equally impossible to say 'no' to my young niece and nephew who always seemed to want a warm pretzel every time we brought them to the mall with us. Twenty something years ago it never occurred to me that I could make fresh baked pretzels at home.
Had I known, Auntie Lynn's Baked Soft Pretzels possibly could have been in contention for their most favorite, most memorable childhood pretzels.
The pretzel dough is made with only six ingredients: bread flour, Kosher salt, instant (rapid rise) yeast, melted European-style butter, and sugar. After the yeast, melted butter and sugar are mixed together and rest for five minutes, bread flour and Kosher salt are mixed in with a dough whisk or wooden spoon. The shaggy dough is transformed into a smooth, slightly sticky ball of dough after about five minutes of kneading in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled (or sprayed) medium sized bowl. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 45-60 minutes (or until doubled in size) in a warm place.
After dividing the dough into eight equal pieces, each piece is rolled out into a rope of approximately 18 inches. To shape the rope into a pretzel, form each dough rope into a "U' shape. Then cross the two ends over each other and fold down to the bottom of the "U" for form a pretzel shape. To get the hang of it, I did a few practice rounds with a piece of string. Once all of the pretzels have been formed, bring the mixture of water, baking soda and sugar to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and lower each pretzel into the baking soda/sugar solution for 20 seconds per side. The process of dipping the pretzels in this mixture not only alters the pH level of the outside of the dough, it contributes to creating that beautiful brown pretzel finish as well as gives it that much loved pretzel flavor. In other words, you don't want to skip this step.
For a deeper golden brown finish, make an egg wash using one large egg, one large egg yolk and one Tablespoon of water. The egg wash will not only allow the pretzel salt to adhere to the dough, but it will give it a beautiful golden brown sheen. The best salt to use for these Baked Soft Pretzels is coarse pretzel salt as it doesn't melt at high temperatures.
Baking time for the pretzels ranges from 14-16 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown. After removing the pan of pretzels from the oven, brush them with some melted European-style butter to give them a buttery flavor.
Transfer them to a large platter containing bowls of mustards and/or warm melted cheese. These Baked Soft Pretzels are best when served warm (although they can be reheated). If by chance you have any leftover, place in ziplock bag to keep them fresh. Leftover pretzels are great for making sandwiches.
Once you serve your family and friends some freshly Baked Soft Pretzels, it's highly likely they will be asking you to put them on repeat.
And these pretzels will definitely put you in contention for the best ever hostess/host.
Recipe
Baked Soft Pretzels
Makes 8 generously sized pretzels
Ingredients
1 cup and 2 Tablespoons warm water (110-115 degrees F)
2 1/4 teaspoons (9g) instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 teaspoon (6g) granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted European style butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 1/2 cups (448g) bread flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 quarts water
1/4 cup (72g) baking soda
2 Tablespoons (36g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 Tablespoon water
Pretzel Salt for sprinkling
2 Tablespoons unsalted European style butter, melted
Serving suggestions: Grainy mustard, yellow mustard, melted cheese, and beer.
Directions
1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and melted butter. Whisk to combine. Let rest for 5 minutes.
2. Add the flour and Kosher salt. Using a hand held dough whisk or wooden spoon, stir until combined. Dough will be shaggy.
3. Knead in the mixer (using the dough hook) until the dough is smooth, slightly elastic and clears the sides of the bowl (approximately 5 minutes).
4. Remove dough and shape into a ball.
5. Lightly oil or spray a medium sized bowl. Set the ball of dough in the bowl and tightly cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm place and let the dough to rise until double in size (approximately 45-60 minutes).
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (F.)
7. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll and stretch each piece to a length of rope approximately 18 inches. Note: The dough may be a bit resistant to being stretched. So first shape each piece of dough into a chunky tube shape, then gradually lengthen each piece into a long thin rope.
8. Form each piece into a U shape. Cross the two ends over each other and fold down into a pretzel shape. Place on the baking sheet (leaving at least 2 inches between pretzels). Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
9. Bring the water, baking soda and sugar to a bowl in a medium sized saucepan. Reduce the heat level to a simmer.
10. Gently place a pretzel on a large spatula and lower into the water for 20 seconds per side. Remove with spatula gently shaking off any excess water. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
11. Whisk together the egg, egg yolk, and water. Brush each pretzel with the egg wash and generously sprinkle with pretzel salt.
12. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden (rotating tray midway). Remove from oven.
13. Brush each pretzel with some melted butter.
14. Serve warm with some melted cheese and/or assortment of mustards.
15. The baked pretzels are best the day they have been baked and right out of the oven. Use any leftover pretzels for sandwiches and/or reheat in the microwave to warm up for a few seconds.
Notes: (1) Slightly adaptation of Shauna Server's Big Soft Pretzel recipe from the cookbook "Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland. (2) Pretzel salt doesn't melt at high temperatures, however, some coarse sea salts will. If at all possible, use pretzel salt. (3) If you make the dough into pretzel bites versus pretzel shapes reduce your baking time to 12-14 minutes.
