Soft Pretzels
Twisted chewy ropes of savoury dough. Pretzels have deep, dark burnished crusts studded with crunchy salt crystals. Before you startStart as early as you can the day before; at least overnight and up to 24hrsOverview- Make a dough and knead by hand- Transfer to the fridge for at least 8 hours (note)- Roll dough sections into ropes and twist into shape- Poach in a solution of Baked Soda & water- Brush with egg and sprinkle with coarse salt- Short bake in an hot oven
Servings: 8 large pretzels
Equipment
- Large baking sheet, approx. 70x 35cm, or two smaller ones
- skimmer
Ingredients
- 7 g instant dried yeast
- 120 g/ml water (note)
- Tablespoon barley/rice malt syrup (or a Tablespoon of firmly-packed dark brown sugar)
- 420 g bread flour
- 120 ml cold Pilsner-style beer eg. Stella, Heineken, Peroni or any other pale lager
- 30 g unsalted butter cubed, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons salt
- extra softened butter
- 70 g baking soda
- 1 egg yolk
- Tablespoon water
- Finishing/coarse sea salt to sprinkle over
Instructions
- Mixing and Proving the DoughYeast, Water & Sugar/Syrup - whisk together in a bowl (note)7 g instant dried yeast120 g/ml waterTablespoon barley/rice malt syrup
- Flour, Lager, Butter & Salt - add these. Bring together with a silicone spatula.You’ll end up with a craggy cohesive clump of dough. Tip out onto an unfloured work surface420 g bread flour120 ml cold Pilsner-style beer30 g unsalted butter2 teaspoons salt
- Knead - by hand for 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic (note). It should be slightly tacky, but not sticky. Add a touch more flour (a tablespoon at a time), or water (a teaspoon at a time) to fix if required
- Cool Rise - lightly grease a bowl big enough to take the dough when doubled in size. Cover well with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge for at least 8 hours (note)extra softened butter
- Prepare Baked Baking Soda (if you don't already have some) - preheat oven to 100°C. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Spread out baking soda in a thin even layer and bake for 1 hour (note)70 g baking soda
- ShapingPrepare Baking Sheets - line a large baking sheet or two smaller ones with baking paper
- Preheat Oven - to maximum temperature
- Weigh & Punch Down Dough - remove the dough from the bowl. Weigh it and divide that value by eight to calculate what each pretzel will weigh. They will be about 90g. Place the dough onto an un-floured surface. Press it down with your hands to deflate. You might hear some air bubbles pop
- Divide Dough - into eight equal portions. You can add/take away sections to even them out. Cover the dough with a damp cloth (wet a tea towel and wring out well). Keep all the dough covered apart from the piece you're working with
- Press Out & First Roll - pat/stretch a piece of dough with your fingertips to form a rectangle approx. 14 x 9 cm. You can cut out a piece of baking paper to size for an easy visual cue. Starting at one of the long edges, roll up the rectangle of dough tightly. Pinching the seam closed with your fingertips. Shape the dough into a rope by rolling against the work surface with your palms. Apply mild pressure, working from the centre out to the ends. It will get to a natural length where it will shrink back if you try and extend it, limited to around 30-40cm long. Set it aside to rest while you do the same with the other pieces of dough. Keep them in order as you work them into ropes
- Second Roll - return to the first dough rope (which has had the most time to relax). Continue rolling it in the same way to a length of around 60-70cm. This will happen without too much effort. If you want tapered ends (which I didn’t do in the photos, apply a little more pressure as you work your way out. Repeat with all eight, keeping the dough covered when you're not working on it
- Shaping - form an upside-down ‘U’ shape. Cross the ends over about 8cm from the tips, then twist again. Flip the twisted section to bring it towards the curve of the 'U'. Allowing the tips of the rope to overhang a touch (about ½ cm) at about 10 and 2 o’clock (note). Transfer the shaped pretzels onto the baking tray/s about 2cm apart. Keep them loosely covered with another damp tea towel. Once finished, leave them for about 20-30 minutes to expand a touch and get a bit puffy (note)
- Poaching - select a saucepan wide enough to fit a single pretzel with space around the outside so you can flip it. Fill with 2 litres of water and 60g Baked Baking Soda. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Whisk the soda to dissolve it (the water will go clear) and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Using two hands to carefully pick up each pretzel in turn, place them in a large skimmer. Lower the skimmer into the water and remove it from underneath. Poach the pretzels for 10 seconds before flipping to do the other side for 10 seconds. Then lift out and return to the baking sheet the right side up (you'll need to flip again). The pretzels will have changed - more yellow and puffy (and now wet of course!). If they've become a bit misshapen, you can coax back into shape a little
- Oven-Ready- use a sharp knife to cut a long deep slit in the pretzels between the overhanging tips (about ½ cm deep). This should be the thickest part of the pretzel. Whisk egg yolk with water and brush this egg wash over the pretzels. Sprinkle liberally with coarse sea salt1 egg yolkTablespoon waterFinishing/coarse sea salt
- Bake - for around 8 minutes until deep mahogany brown, rotating tray/s halfway through
- Cool Slightly & Eat! - allow to cool for around 20 minutes before enjoying