Homemade Pretzels

Today was a cold and very windy day. It was perfect weather for staying in and baking something new. Chris has been begging me for a few weeks to make homemade pretzels. Plus I haven't used my dough hook on my new mixer yet so it was the perfect reason to try this out. I used an Alton Brown recipe from Food Network. They turned out so great. I'll definitely try this again soon. This was our appetizer and Chris made a tasty chili. I'll post pics and recipe of that next.

















1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 pkg active dry yeast (I used the fast acting yeast)
22 oz all-purpose flour
2 oz unsalted butter, melted
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp water
Pretzel salt (I used Kosher and it worked fine)
Vegetable Oil

Combine water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until dissolved. Then sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. (*If it doesn't foam or starts to settle to the bottom, start over with warmer water or maybe your yeast was old.) Add flour and butter and using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combines. Then change to medium speed and let it knead the dough until it's smooth and starts to pull away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in warm place for about 30 minutes if you are using the fast active yeast; if not, 50-55 minutes. While the oven is preheating, you can sit it on the stove near the warmth.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling oil in a large pot.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface or countertop. Divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment lined pans.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1 for 30 seconds each. Remove them from the water using a large slotted spoon or spatula. Return to the pan and brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg and water. Then sprinkle with the pretzel or kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color. About 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite mustard. Makes 8 large pretzels.