Homemade Pretzels
These pretzels are good but they are more like a salty bagel with a crispy crust. Don’t be put off by the number of steps and the boiling process. It really isn’t a big deal and the clean up is easy.
1 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk warmed in the microwave on high for 1 minute
2 - 3 cups good unbleached white flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
Preheat your oven to 425. Throw the first four ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer (or food processor). Mix it around to dissolve the yeast. Add 1 cup of the flour and run the mixer on a high speed until the lumps disappear. Gradually add more flour and continue to mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. I switch to the bread hook now and let it run on a medium high speed for about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes take the dough out and let it rest. Then roll it into a log and cut it into 6 even pieces. Roll each piece into a dough rope about the diameter of your finger and as long as it needs to be to get to that thickness. It’s just like rolling a Play-Doh snake. This is a great time to enlist the kids and have them “roll their own”.
Shape it into a pretzel shape and pinch the ends. To form the pretzel shape lay the dough rope in front of you in the horizontal position. Grab each end of the rope and bring them together over the top to the middle. Twist them together and secure them to the bottom piece of dough by pinching.
Put a pan of water on to boil. I use a 4 quart chef’s pan filled about 2/3 full and salted. Once it is boiling dunk each pretzel into the water for 5 seconds. Take it out using a slotted spoon or spatula. Put them on a rack and sprinkle them with salt (I use Kosher salt).
Place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy.
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