Hello hello! It’s me. Stephen. Long time no see, I know I know. I’m not going to lie, it was a busy summer and I feel like I’ve barely cooked in ages. Hopefully now that autumn is fast approaching, I’ll be able to spend more time in the kitchen!
So… My mom has been on my case to post a new recipe so after debating what to post, I decided to share a soft pretzel recipe from my “fancy” food files (aka thousands of papers/printouts scrawled with notes). It’s a classic soft pretzel recipe by Alton Brown from the Food Network. I know I’ve said this many times before, but nothing beats homemade baking and cooking, however there are occasional exceptions. That said, NOTHING can beat a freshly baked homemade soft pretzel. Those boxed microwavable ones? Yuck. They taste like plastic and shame. This one? So pillowy and delicious with a slight crunch and enough traditional balkpark pretzel flavor. I love it and know that you will too.
Spicy brown mustard and pretzels go together like pb and j sooo obviously serve these pretzels with a condiment like that or none at all. I sprinkle coarse French grey salt on my pretzels, but feel free to use any coarse salt that you have on hand or see in the store (apparently they also sell “special” pretzel salt. I’ve never tried it, but it’s probably pretty good, so feel free to give that a whirl).
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the start of carb season. :)
**Makes 8 pretzels**
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoons sugar
i package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups flour
1/2 stick of butter (melted)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
10 cups of water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
Coarse salt
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle with yeast and let it sit until foamy (roughly 10 minutes).
Add in flour, salt, and melted butter. Mix and then knead until smooth, about 10 minutes.
Put into a bowl oiled with the vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place until double in size.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meanwhile, put the 10 cups of water and baking soda into a large pot and bring to a rolling bowl.
Take pretzel dough out of the bowl and cut into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a “rope” roughly 15-24 inches long. Twist into a pretzel. Place onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
On-by-one place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove from the water and return to the baking sheet. Brush the top with an egg wash (yolk mixed with the 1 tablespoon of water) and then sprinkle with coarse salt. Repeat for the rest of the pretzels.
Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool before eating.
Enjoy!
