Don’t you just love soft pretzels? You can’t go to an outdoor fair and not get a warm salted pretzel with a side of mustard. It’s just a must-have.
Here in Orange County, CA, we still have a few more weeks until the county fair makes it way to us but we can’t wait! We had to make our own pretzels. Would you believe they only took 30 minutes from dissolving the yeast to taking them out of the oven? No lie! Handmade pretzels in 30 minutes and OMG they were so good!
Makes 8 pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 4 – 4.25 cups all-purpose flour + more for the counter surface to knead
- 2 large eggs
- course sea salt or kosher salt for sprinkling
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425F °. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water. Stir with a spoon until fairly mixed, about 1 minute. Some clusters of yeast will remain. Add salt and sugar; stir until fairly combined.
- Slowly add flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough is thick. Continue to add more flour until dough is no longer sticky. Poke the dough with your finger – if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes and then shape into a ball.
- With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough in half then each half into quarters so you will have 8 even pieces.
- Roll the dough into a rope with an even diameter. Our ropes were about 18 to 20 inches long (rolling into a rope worked best for us on a non-floured surface).
- Once you have your long rope, take the ends and draw them together so the dough forms a circle. Twist the ends, then bring them towards yourself and press them down into a pretzel shape.
- In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Dunk the shaped pretzels into the egg wash, both sides, covering completely. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425F °. Then turn the oven to broil and bake for 2-4 more minutes to brown the tops. Watch closely to avoid burning.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe source: revised from sallysbakingaddiction.com
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