Soft Pretzels

This recipe makes about one dozen american-style “mall pretzels.” The boiling baking soda bath acts on the gluten proteins at the surface of the dough to promote quicker browning while in the oven.

Soft Pretzels

Equipment

Pre-heat Oven to 450°F

Ingredients

Dough

  • ¾ cup Warm Water
  • 1½ tsp Instant Dry Yeast
  • 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 cup AP Flour
  • 1 cup Bread Flour
  • ½ tsp Salt (for dough)
  • 2 tbsp Pretzel Salt (for topping)

Water Bath

  • ¼ cup Baking Soda

Procedure

  1. Rehydrate yeast in the water, stirring in brown sugar.
  2. Add bread and AP flour, plus salt, and knead thoroughly.
  3. Split the dough into 6 equal pieces, then cover and allow to rise (approximately 2 hours)
  4. Roll each piece of dough into a strip about as thick as your finger and fold into the pretzel shape
  5. Prepare a shallow saucepan with boiling water and the ¼ cup of baking soda
  6. Submerge each pretzel in the bath for about 8-10 seconds on each side
  7. After dipping, place each pretzel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and top with Pretzel Salt (or Kosher Salt)
  8. Bake at 450°F until golden brown
  9. After baking, the pretzels can be topped with melted butter, cinnamon powder, pizza sauce & parmesean cheese or any other number of toppings