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Soft Pretzels

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I’ll be honest — soft pretzels are a guilty pleasure of mine. I have very fond memories of going shopping with my family and being rewarded at the end with a hot pretzel and lemonade. I also like getting the pretzel rolls to make mini-sandwiches with, but they’re a bit hard to find nearby me.

Making pretzels seemed daunting to me. They’re like bread and bagels mixed together, some mystery that makes them magically chewy yet snappy and soft.

It turns out that they’re not that hard to make! I was inspired by my Secret Recipe Club partner for this month, Nicole from Collie’s Kitchen. Nicole is a half-country/half-city girl that is a full-time college student and mother. I can’t even imagine how she does everything, including making these great soft pretzels!

I didn’t have milk powder or a bread machine, so I had to use a little improvisation with these pretzels. These turned out way better than I expected and I imagine that there will be more pretzels in my future (gotta use up that bread flour!). We might even make these pretzels a Memorial Day tradition; they taste great when smooshed around a local sausage, coleslaw, and grilled onions.

Dinner
Breakfast Sandwich

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Soft Pretzels Recipe

By nicole Published: May 26, 2014

  • Yield: 6 pretzels
  • Prep: 1 hr 30 mins
  • Cook: 15 mins
  • Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins

I'll be honest -- soft pretzels are a guilty pleasure of mine. I have very fond memories of going shopping with my family and …

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together sugar, butter, yeast, water and half the flour. Add the salt and remaining flour and stir until mixture comes together. Using the dough hook, knead for 8 minutes until smooth.
  2. Let the dough rest for a few minutes, then form your dough into whatever shape you want (buns, rolls, traditional pretzels).
  3. Transfer the dough shapes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat, leaving a little room to rise. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then move to the fridge until you're ready to bake.
  4. Heat oven to 425℉.
  5. Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil. Add baking soda gradually and stir until dissolved.
  6. Turn the heat off and start poaching your pretzels, 1 minute on each side.
  7. Transfer pretzels to baking sheet and, if desired, make decorative cuts.
  8. Brush with a an egg diluted with a teaspoon of water and sprinkle with toppings of choice (salt, sesame, poppy, etc).
  9. Bake for 14-16 minutes until dark in color, rotating half-way through.
  10. If not eating immediately, pop in the freezer. These do not sit well overnight at room temperature.

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    Comments

      • Kelsey, I’ve had sandwiches on the rolls/knots since and they are still SO good! Breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches. They are all so tasty!

        Reply

    4. The pretzels are in a tight competition with your nail polish to win my heart! Love them both…

      I know I commented on soft pretzels before – maybe even in some SRC post, but it’s true: I’ve had them in my list of things to do SOON for the longest time. I will never forget the first time I had them. I was 26 years old, first time away from Brazil, enjoying them near the Golden Gate in San Francisco. WOW… talk about memories!
      sallybr recently posted..SECRET RECIPE CLUB: DULCE DE LECHE CHEESECAKE BARSMy Profile

      Reply

      • Thanks for stopping by Sally! you painted a great picture for me. I’ll have to eat a pretzel when I go to San Francisco next for you!

        Reply

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