Saturday, March 7, 2009

Wake up, Make Soft Pretzels..

For whatever reason, I woke up this morning and thought how much I'd love a home-baked soft pretzel. The weather here is still cool enough to turn the oven on, so I thought I would take advantage. I also thought: good photos. I was right.

I Googled for recipes, and Alton Brown's recipe was top on the list. The man hasn't steered me wrong yet.

As with so many things I've written about here: Why don't I do this more often??? Simplest dough: proof yeast with water and some sugar. Add flour and melted butter. My tip for you readers, don't know where I learned this, but dump it all in. Cover the entire mixer with a dish towel. Turn mixer on to lowest speed and let it run about one minute, incorporating all the flour. The towel keeps the flour cloud at bay. Then turn to medium, knead with dough hook for 5 minutes. Cover with plastic and walk away.

One hour later, return to beautiful dough. Cut into 8 pieces, roll into long pieces (24 inches), shape into pretzels. Drop each one, one at a time, into boiling water with baking soda. Boil 30 seconds..Actually, Alton? Suggest a slotted spatula for this maneuver. You gotta let the extra water drain back into the pan.

Brush with egg wash, top with salt--I had no pretzel salt so used Sel Gris I had in a sampler pack from The Meadow (Thanks, Mark!)...Quick bake at 450F for 12 to 15 minutes.Cool (only a little...these are so great WARM)...and EAT.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

YUM. Those look amazing. I had a pretzel craving today too, but mine wasn't nearly as yummy. Send one to my house next time please!

Anonymous said...

They're beautiful!
I was just reading in Baking Illustrated that the baking soda in the water makes a huge difference. I can't wait to give these a try.
-Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

My kids are obsessed with soft pretzels and I've *never* made them because I assumed they were complicated. Your lovely photos and description of Alton's recipe have inspired me to give them a try.

Jacqui Gal said...

I'm drooooling.

Daniel said...

Thanks for sharing! I'm looking forward to trying this myself. And I love your artful photography.

Dan
Casual Kitchen

Anonymous said...

I ditto what Cheryl said. My kids love soft pretzels. We buy them at the mall and have even purchased the frozen ones at Costco. But after I make these, my kids will love me forever!

-Sharon

P.S. The images are making me drool!

Anonymous said...

Your pretzels look perfect!

Anonymous said...

yum yum yum. Is there anything better than a fresh baked pretzel? Maybe a popover, but it's a close race....

RestaurantZoom said...

Thanks for the pics and recipe link. We have been craving soft pretzels and are going to give them a try tomorrow.