I really can't remember the last time I had a really good pretzel. Maybe the pretzel I ate last wasn't even worth remembering... maybe I don't even like pretzels... who knows? Either way, this week's recipe is a soft NY style pretzel.
Why hello there...
This is what yeast looks like straight out of the package.. no smell until the proofing begins.
Such a chewy result. mmmmm....
Can I eat this picture?
The recipe is pretty simple. I'm writing this from memory.
Ingredients
Dough:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup warm-hot water
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour
small drizzle of olive oil
pretzel/coarse/sea/margarita salt
Baking Soda Solution:
6 cups water
3 Tbsp baking soda
Directions:
Start by proofing the yeast. This means add the package of yeast into the 1 cup water with 1 tsp sugar and let sit for about 10 minutes. It will either smell like bread or beer...just depends on what you are craving. Add in the honey when it's done proofing. Next, combine all the dry ingredients and slowly add this to the water. I used a kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook attachment... not sure what I would do without it. Mix the dough well and knead on low for about 5 minutes. Oil a medium sized bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough. Roll the dough around so it gets coated with oil. Cover and let it rise for an hour. When it has doubled in size, literally punch the dough back down and let it rise again for another 30 minutes.
Add the baking soda to the 6 cups of water in a large pan and bring to a boil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Using trial and error for pretzel size, rip pieces of dough off the ball and roll dough until pencil thin. When ripping pieces, I used only my fingers and not my palms, this allowed the size to be consistent and makes a good palm size baked pretzel. Shape the pretzels.
Cook the pretzels in the baking soda water for 30 seconds per side. Then drain and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 12-14 minutes until the tops begin to look brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. A quick tip for timing. If they look like they're almost brown but not quite.... I'd take them out. I left some on for 12 minutes until I saw they looked brown, I opened the oven and they cooked a bit more than I would have liked. Not burned, but just darker than what I like.
Imagine about 5-6 more pretzels on top of this pile. My wife and I sort of attacked them before they had the chance to cool.
