Friday, March 21, 2008

Soft pretzel experiment

And so continues my love of carbos. With the last of my crackers quickly devoured, I now needed a new snack. Hmm what shall I make? Well last weekend, up north at a ski lodge, I got a soft pretzel. They are my undoubtedly my favorite snack when out and about. There is just something about them that I can't get enough of! I have made soft pretzels before, but I have also made pretzel rolls. You had to boil, then bake the pretzel rolls, which gave them the signature chewy texture. Since I have never boiled my actual pretzels, I decided that I might as well give it a shot. So this is also a very quick yeast risen bread.I don't know why, but I'm wildly amused by this picture! All I added was yeast sugar and water, and in 5 min it turned into this fizzy beast! How cool! So then you mix up the stuff and let it rise.






















This dough is enough for eight pretzels, so divide it up evenly!

Then you shape them into pretzels. Once, wile I was being lazy, I just twisted them into sticks, which was still pretty cool.Ok so here is the moment of truth.**drums for added effect** The mountain of fizz! I think that this happened because of the baking soda that I added. : D So I slid a pretzel at a time into the pot, after the fizz went down. I sprinkled some salt on top of the pretzels, and baked them. I also baked some non boiled pretzels. The pretzel on the left was not boiled, the one on the right was. The ones that were boiled and baked were chewier. I like the ones that were not boiled also, because they were sort of crisp and cool in their own unique way.

*I forgot to brush my non boiled pretzels with egg wash to make them shiny, but thats ok, they were still great!

Soft Pretzels

  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1-2 tbs baking soda
Combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar in a small dish (5 min)

Combine the flour and salt in a med. bowl. Add the yeast mixture, and 3/4 cup water. Mix untill combined. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth.

Place in an oiled bowl, and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Cut the dough into 8 pieces and shape into pretzels, of pretzel twists.

You can either boil them in some water with the 1-2 tbs of baking soda for about a 30 sec. to a min., then bake at 400 degrees, or you can skip the boiling, and just bake at 400 degrees, but brush the pretzels with a little egg wash, or melted butter. Sprinkle with Salt.

Bake for 15-20 min, or until golden brown

32 comments:

Peter M said...

Jessie, I'd pick the boiled pretzel..pass me the mustard please!

Mary Coleman said...

Love the mountain of fizz!
these look great...one boiled pretzel please..do you ship to Tennessee?

Melanie said...

I love, love, love soft pretzels - they are also my favorite snack of choice. I'll try boiling mine next time (the recipe I have just has me dip them in a soda/water mixture).

PG said...

Cool! I should try making these. Looks good.

Rachel said...

Oh yum, I've been meaning to try making pretzels.

The Peanut Butter Boy said...

Soft pretzels! I love these! I'm getting into this baking mode now and these pretzels are sucking me in. Little bit of honey mustard, maybe some cinnamon sugar ones. Peanut butter? Hmm....Thanks for the inspiration!

- The Peanut Butter Boy

michael, claudia and sierra said...

homemade pretzels
wow
i've never ever made em!
yours look so great!

Anonymous said...

I was cracking up at the fizz...glad you were able to capture it with photography.

Deborah said...

Yum-I love soft pretzels. I've never tried to make them before, but I should give it a try soon!

Lori Lynn said...

A fizzy beast? hahaha

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

You have been baking up a storm Jessie...beats the wintry conditions outside:D It all looks so comforting and delicious:D

Michelle Ann said...

I LOVE soft pretzels. One of my favorite things to do is to go to Target, stop off at the food court, get a pretzel with mustard and wander around the store doing my shopping.

Mandy said...

I love soft pretzels but never attempted making them myself. Yours look good!

Anonymous said...

I like the one on the left. Very tantalizing pretzels.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

They both look delicious. Isn't it satisfying to make something at home and realize you made it as good as or better than the store bought version?

Emily said...

The pretzels look great. I'm impressed. Everytime I make pretzels, it turns into a disaster. It's the boiling that ruins the pretzels, for me.

pinknest said...

now this looks like some fizzy fun that i'm sure would set me screaming.

Elle said...

Those look great! I made those once, they were my first attempt at a yeasty dough. They were perfect and delicious! Until my fat cat ripped open the bag they were in and took a bite of EACH one! hahaha!!! i was so mad. :)

Anonymous said...

Now this is something I haven't thought about making yet! I always like to get my soft pretzel "fix" when I go to the mall. My favorite is the cheese and jalapeno pepper topped pretzel. I'll surely try to make my own soon!

test it comm said...

Those pretzels look good!

Anonymous said...

ooh my mom just gave me some honey mustard and mango dipping sauce for pretzels... i passed on it but now i'll take it back since I have pretzels to make!

daphne said...

these looked good. What's the texture difference between boiled and baked?

Anonymous said...

oooh, I love pretzels! I've never made my own before. I love the fact that you made boiled and non-boiled to compare.

Unknown said...

daphne- I usually make the non-boiled kind, basically because it is more convenient to make. They are more crispy, and get a glossy finish when you brush them with an egg wash. The boiled ones turned naturally darker. They were chewier, and didn't have the crispness that the only baked ones had.

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Woops thats my brothers account.

Anonymous said...

heh... I took something like your first foamy picture this week (here). It is kind of funny, no? Soft pretzels remind me of this pretzel bread I had in Germany. You can get them at every corner, pretty much, straight from the oven, and they're amazing with a bit of butter. Thanks for the recipe!

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

Great pretzels! I remember the first time I ever made pretzels... it was a disaster!

Viagra said...

I love soft pretzels! Thank you for sharing.

Elliott Broidy said...

Yours came out beautifully!

Stan Kirchner said...

Wow such pretzels are always so delicious... Thank for sharing the recipe!

hire a car in Barcelona

CS:GO Bets said...

I think this was a very successful experiment :) I'm trying to cook these pretzels today for sure!
OMG.BET

Cialis said...

Great website!