Soft Baked Pretzels

I know that I have admitted in the past that I have a love/hate relationship with making yeast breads.  I always want to make all these wonderful breads that I see others make but panic when it comes to actually following through.  I can't begin to tell you how many bread recipes that I have pinned on Pinterest.  Way to many!  But I have slowly been breaking through that barrier of fear.  I like to give all the credit to my Kitchen Aid Mixer that I got for Mother's Day this year.  As long as I can toss all the ingredients into that baby and let it do all the work I have been golden!

For some reason I decided that today was going to be the day I gave pretzels a try.  So....on to my Pinterest board I went and picked what seemed to be the easiest.  Only a few ingredients and 30 minutes to rise....yep...I can do this. So a big thanks to the folks over at www.fifteenspatulas.com for sharing these....they are super yummy and Oh My did they make the house smell so good.

I will admit that I may need to practice my pretzel rolling skills....but they puffed up so much in the oven they look so much like rolls....I bet they would make a super delish bun for a juicy burger.

Soft Baked Pretzels

 

For the Dough:

2 1/2  cups flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp sugar

2 1/4  tsp instant quick rise yeast

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

 

For the Topping:

1/2 cup warm water

1 tbsp baking soda

vegetable oil for greasing the sheet pan

coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

 

1. Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix with the paddle attachment until somewhat combined (or just mix by hand with a wooden spoon). Change to the dough hook and knead on medium low for 5 minutes. The dough should feel soft and smooth, not sticky to the touch.
2. Lightly dust the dough with flour, then place in a ziploc bag and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and lightly grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil. You could also do parchment paper if you can find one that's rated high enough (most parchment papers I've seen only go up to 420 degrees F).
4. Remove the dough from the bag and place onto a lightly oiled countertop. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (just cut it with a knife).
5. Whisk to combine the warm water and baking soda and cook in the microwave for 1 minute. FYI it's not going to dissolve completely, and that's okay.
6. Roll each of the eight pieces into a long rope, and shape each one into a pretzel.
7. Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place onto the greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, then let them rest for 10 minutes.
8. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown. Brush the pretzels with the melted butter while they are hot out of the oven, so the bread can soak up all the buttery goodness.

 

 

 

Happy Wednesday!  Enjoy!