July PMOW Challenge: Soft Pretzels

PMOW is back!

I know, I know, I skipped June.. no excuses. It's back to the challenge. We had such great participation in May with PMOW Pop Tarts! Thanks to everyone who participated. This month, we're going to go with a ball park favorite- Soft Pretzels!


Instructions: This is a totally relaxed challenge. Anyone and everyone is invited to join in. As usual, the only real requirement is to bake them. Ideally, though, please bake, take a photo or two, and post about it on your blog (it's okay if you don't have one!). Then, send one picture, the link to your blog post, and any comments to me at natalieherr@gmail.com. Then I'll post a round-up of all of the participants by the end of the month. Please post and send pictures/comments by Friday, July 31 at midnight. Have fun!

I'm going to suggest Alton Brown's recipe for soft pretzels, but if you find another one you like better, feel free to give that one a try as well. There's a great tutorial at Macheesmo on baking through Alton's recipe.

Homemade Soft Pretzels
Alton Brown

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 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 a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and 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 of the rope, 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 half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.