| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 8 pretzels |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- Vegetable oil, for pan
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Pretzel salt
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. 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, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
- Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
- In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly 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, 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 onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
- Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 417 |
| Total Fat | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 63 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Cholesterol | 38 mg |
| Sodium | 5061 mg |
Reviews
I think these might be the best pretzels I’ve ever had.. Even the next day out of the bread box they were so good.
Marvelous!!! They disappeared in minutes. Next time I doubled it so I got one!!
Started out really good and ended really good but took 2 hours to rise after keeping my house so warm, but in the end they turned out so light and fluffy my family ate them all!
I started making yeast breads a year ago and was a bit afraid of the pretzel. Tried this recipe today and it was delicious … my family’s favorite yeast item I have made! Served with a cheddar cheese dip. So good!
These pretzels are soooo good and very easy to make!!!!
Ummm omg amazing. I think I made some previously from another person and didn’t think they were that good. These were amazingly soft and so good. I ate like 4 pretzels in like 3 days. I’m about to make another round this week. I tried to freeze and found you need to shape pretzel- don’t use the lye bath yet- take out of freezer and I tried it two ways 1. Frozen into boiling lye bath and bake ( didn’t feel it was as good and not as chewy)
2. Take out of freezer, thaw out on counter, then use lye bath- these turned into a little bit better in my opinion. Must make sure to use parchment bec once they thaw them get kind of wet/ sticky
I ate them straight out of the oven
-tried with cinnamon sugar as well and did 2 ways 1. Cinammon/sugar before oven and then 2. After they baked
Found it’s better to wait to use the Cinamon sugar until after they come out of oven. Put some butter on top then coated them.. great with cream cheese! If you are on fence to make- don’t be!
Now working on a cheese sauce to eat with
2. Take out of freezer, thaw out on counter, then use lye bath- these turned into a little bit better in my opinion. Must make sure to use parchment bec once they thaw them get kind of wet/ sticky
I ate them straight out of the oven
-tried with cinnamon sugar as well and did 2 ways 1. Cinammon/sugar before oven and then 2. After they baked
Found it’s better to wait to use the Cinamon sugar until after they come out of oven. Put some butter on top then coated them.. great with cream cheese! If you are on fence to make- don’t be!
Now working on a cheese sauce to eat with
I just made these they are terrific , very soft inside and a slight crunch outside, I did not have pretzel salt so I have a ten year supply of margarita salt so I used that, good stuff,
Incredible. There are some nuances between the written instructions and the video. I followed the video. The pretzels were soft and chewy on the inside and the outside had the perfect crunchy texture. I made a queso blanco Velveeta cheese dip (added garlic powder) to keep it simple. This will be my go to pretzel recipe.
Alton Brown: this recipe ROCKS and really makes a great soft pretzel!
Pretty good!