Soft Pretzel
http://www.ishotthechef.com/bakery/lets-do-the-twist/
2 hours, 50 minutes
(1 hour, 5 minutes active)
12 servings
Breads
143 cal/serving
jdelaney72
Ingredients
- 1cup (≈237gestimated from: Water, tap, municipal [cup 8 fl oz]) Water warm (110 F)
- 1packet (≈7.2gestimated from: Leavening agents, yeast, baker's, active dry [packet]) Active Dry Yeast
- 1tbsp (≈13.8gestimated from: Sugars, brown [cup packed]) Brown Sugar, Light
- 3cups (≈375gestimated from: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached [cup]) Flour, All-purpose
- 2tbsp (≈28.4gestimated from: Butter, salted [tbsp]) Butter, Salted melted
-
1/2 tsp (≈3gestimated from: Salt, table [tsp]) Salt - 6cups (≈1422gestimated from: Water, tap, municipal [cup 8 fl oz]) Water
- 3tbsp (≈41.4gestimated from: Leavening agents, baking soda [tsp]) Baking Soda
Soda Bath
Steps
- 1 Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 10 minutes to bloom. Add the water/yeast along with the melted butter, brown sugar, salt and 2 3/4 cups of the flour to your heavy-duty mixer and knead dough for about 8 minutes, adding the last 1/4 cup of flour if necessary. You can also do this by hand. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but very uniform and smooth. Place dough in a large oiled bowl, and let rise for 1 hour, until doubled. Note: To ensure the dough is thoroughly kneaded, take a small piece and roll it into a ball. With your thumbs, stretch the dough until either it tears or becomes transparent in the center, also known as a window. If you cannot stretch the dough to form a window, knead a little longer.
- 2 Punch down, and divide the dough into 12 equal shapes and form them into small balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rest for 15 minutes.
- 3 Roll them into 20″ lengths and form them into pretzel shapes. If you notice them getting hard to roll (springing back), cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 5 minutes and then continue rolling out. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow the pretzels to rise for 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Note #2: If you have a kitchen scale, use that to weigh out the 12 balls of dough. They should be right around 2 oz each.
- 4 In a large pot, bring the baking soda and water to a boil. Add the pretzels one at a time to the boiling water for 1 minute. Press down into the boiling water with a spatula. Remove and place on a cooling rack. When cooled, transfer to a parchment lined sheet pan. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt and bake for 12-15 minutes, until dark brown.