Today I decided to try my hand at pretzel making. Overall, they weren’t nearly as difficult as I thought they would be – and the results were pretty tasty. Although they’re no Auntie Anne’s pretzel, they’re good. I basically used Alton Brown’s Recipe, although I subbed some Whole Wheat Pastry Flour for 1/2 the white flour and made a few minute adjustments. Next time I think I would boil them a little longer, and bake them a little longer – and perhaps instead of brushing with egg yolk I would brush them with melted butter. I used my kitchenaid to do the kneading and mixing – if you don’t have one you can do it by hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115°)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 11 ounces all-purpose flour
• 11 ounces whole wheat Pastry Flour
• 2 ounces butter, melted
• Olive Oil
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Kosher Salt

Method:

• In Kitchenaid mixer bowl, stir together water, sugar and kosher salt
• Sprinkle yeast over the top of the water and set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy
• Stir two flours together in small bowl
• Attach kitchenaid bowl and dough hook to mixer and mix in butter
• Working in batches, add flour and knead – until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. (Depending on your climate, you may or may not use all of the flour)
• Turn Dough out in to an oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm place to rise for approximately 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• Preheat Oven to 450°
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and then oil them
• In a large pan, bring the 10 cups of water and baking soda to a rolling boil
• Turn dough out onto an oiled workspace
• Divide dough in to pieces roughly the size of your cupped palm
• Roll out each piece in to a thin rope
• Twist in to pretzel shape (this is mostly about trial and error – the practice results will be tasty regardless; just maybe not as pretty)
• Place the pretzels, one at a time, in to the boiling water for 30 seconds
• Remove from water and place on oiled parchment paper
• Brush the top of each pretzel with egg mixture and sprinkle liberally with kosher salt
• Bake until Golden Brown in color, approximately 12 minutes
• Transfer to cooling rack