Alton Brown’s HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS
I love soft pretzels both sweet and savory and can’t get out of the mall without a stop at either Auntie Anne’s or Wetzels Pretzels. When the kids were little it was their reward for shopping with me, and as they tell it now, I supposedly made all 7 of them share one pretzel. They did have to share, but I am going to say that’s a bit of a stretch. But not to worry, now that I can make them myself , (Thank you Alton Brown !) everyone in the house can have their own and maybe even 2, if they are well-behaved.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 envelope active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour
2 ounces unsalted butter (melted) *Vegan Option Miyoko’s Butter (Find it here.)
Vegetable oil (for the bowl and pan)
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk (beaten with 1 tablespoon water) *Vegan Option A mixture of Maple Syrup and Non-dairy Milk
Pretzel salt
DIRECTIONS
Combine the 1 1/2 cups warm water, the sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until the mixture foams.
Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl, then oil it well. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a 12-inch straight-sided saute pan or a roasting pan (something wide and shallow is best).
Meanwhile, turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, and, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place on a half sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
One by one, place the pretzels in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return them to the sheet pans, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture or if making the vegan version use the syrup and non-dairy milk mixture, and sprinkle with pretzel salt.
Bake until dark golden brown in color, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
If you don’t have pretzel salt, coarse sea salt will do. I didn’t have either in my quarantined house, so I used Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend (Find it here) and it was fantastic.
I will be making these again soon and plan on making a sweet batch as well. For the sweet version, lightly brush with vegan butter after the pretzels come out of the oven, then dip then into a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. If I am feeling extra ambitious, I might even make a Sweet Glaze dipping sauce of powdered sugar, vegan butter, non-dairy milk and vegan cream cheese.
One more thing, these were fun to make; it felt a bit like - cooking project meets science experiment. And I couldn’t get over how perfectly they turned out - professional results from an amateur cook. Now who wouldn’t like that?
Kathryn
P. S. I follow plant-based Laura Wright on instagram @thefirstmess, and it was there that I ran across Alton Brown’s recipe. If you don’t know who she is, I highly recommend taking a look. Her food and drink posts are beautiful, but more importantly, her recipes are downright delicious.