I am so happy that these pretzels came out perfect! Exactly how I pictured them! I followed the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and the cheese sauce from Two Peas and Their Pod. The texture was spot on...soft in the middle and a little chewy in the darker spots on the outside. This is my second try at making any bread recipes, and I think I'm finally catching on (with lots of help from my hubby).
Warning: This is a pretty extensive recipe, that takes at least half a day. Read through the whole thing first. But, don't be scared! It's totally worth it!
Makes about 32 mini pretzels.
Ingredients:
2 cups warm water (temp should be 100-110 degrees, but I didn't check that)
1 tbsp sugar
1 packet (or 1 tbsp) active dry yeast
5-6 cups all purpose flour (plus a little more for dusting)
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp canola or vegetable oil
For poaching water:
1/3 cup baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
For top of pretzels:
1 egg
1 tbsp water
sea salt (or pretzel salt) for sprinkling
For the cheese sauce:
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter plus 1 tbsp
1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or other cheese)
Pour 2 cups warm water in a large bowl and mix in 1 tbsp white sugar. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let it set for about 10 minutes (should look bubbly on top).
Add 1 cup of flour and stir until combined (with a wooden spoon, no metal!). You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook, but it's not necessary. Add the salt and then 4 more cups of flour. Mix well, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. It will be hard to mix. If the dough is still wet and sticky, then add about 1/4-1/2 cup more flour.
Transfer the dough to a surface sprinkled with flour and knead for 10 minutes. If you haven't kneaded bread before or aren't sure how to do it, you might want to watch a video like this one. It's important to knead the dough the full ten minutes until the texture is smooth and silky. A tip is to use your body weight to knead it, instead of your arm strength.
Make sure to have a little helper to keep you company!
Once you are done kneading, pour two tsp oil into a bowl (I washed used the same bowl that I mixed the dough in and used that). Swirl it to coat the bowl in boil. Put the dough in the bowl and turn it around a few times to coat all the sides in oil. Then cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place it in a warm place for about an hour so the dough can rise. It should double in size.
Then kick back and relax while you are waiting.
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Then cut it into 32-34 equal pieces. I used a pizza cutter and cut the dough in half, then cut those pieces in half, then cut the four pieces in half and on and on. I just kept doing that until I ended up with the right amount of pieces. Make wrap all the pieces in plastic wrap to keep it moist. I forgot to do this step and hard a hard time rolling out the dough towards the end.
Next you are going to rolling out each piece into a long strip and form it into a pretzel shape. I watched this video to figure out how to make a pretzel shape. I found it a lot easier to roll it without the flour on the counter top.
It was really easy to make the pretzel shapes! My 6 year old niece did most of them. Just make sure it pinch the dough at the end to keep it together. We made a couple heart shaped ones and they fell apart during poaching because we didn't pinch the dough enough
Transfer the pretzel shapes to your greased cookie sheets as you make them. Making the pretzel shapes took a little time. Allow the pretzel shapes to sit out on the counter for about 15 minutes (so they can rise slightly) before moving onto the next step.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Now comes the poaching part! Place a shallow (big) pot on the stove and fill with about 2 inches of water, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, add 1/3 cup baking soda (step back it fizzes a bit). Add 2 tbsp white sugar, and reduce to a simmer.
Then place the pretzels in the water (about 4-6 at a time depending on the size pot) using a spatula and poach on each side for 1 minute.
Remove from water using a slotted spoon and place them back on the cookie sheet. Here are my cute little poached swollen pretzels.
Then mix 1 egg with 1 tbsp water and brush that on the pretzels. I don't have a brush so I used a scraper/spatula.
Sprinkle with salt and place them in the oven for 12-15. Watch carefully, you'll be able to tell when they are done once you get the coloring you want (medium/golden brown). I put the first poached tray on the top shelf and the second tray in once I was done poaching them (that's why the top rack looks darker). Set two different timers.
You will be able to smell the pretzels baking and it smells delicious!!
Let them cool for about 5 minutes. They taste best eaten right away! You can store them about two days in an uncovered container. If you cover them or put them in a ziploc bag, they will get soggy.
HOW PERFECT DO THESE LOOK?!?!! Now I'm thinking all things pretzel! Maybe pretzel buns or pretzel bites?
To make the cheese sauce:
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter plus 1 tbsp
1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or other cheese)
Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the flour and mix well. Cook for about a minute. Then add the milk until it thicken a bit. Turn the heat down to really low (almost off), then add the cheese, and keep stirring until it melts. Add the additional butter until it melts. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more milk.
PS: If I had a brush, the color would have been a little more even, but I liked that some parts were softer and some a little chewier.
Mini Soft Pretzels
Ingredients:
2 cups warm water (temp should be 100-110 degrees, but I didn't check that)
1 tbsp sugar
1 packet (or 1 tbsp) active dry yeast
5-6 cups all purpose flour (plus a little more for dusting)
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp water
sea salt (or pretzel salt) for sprinkling
Pour 2 cups warm water in a large bowl and mix in 1 tbsp white sugar. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let it set for about 10 minutes (should look bubbly on top).
Add 1 cup of flour and stir until combined (with a wooden spoon, no metal!). Add the salt and then 4 more cups of flour. Mix well, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. It will be hard to mix. If the dough is still wet and sticky, then add about 1/4-1/2 cup more flour.
Transfer the dough to a surface sprinkled with flour and knead for 10 minutes. It's important to knead the dough the full ten minutes until the texture is smooth and silky. Once you are done kneading, pour two tsp oil into a bowl. Swirl it to coat the bowl in boil. Put the dough in the bowl and turn it around a few times to coat all the sides in oil. Then cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place it in a warm place for about an hour so the dough can rise. It should double in size.
Lightly spray to cookies sheets with cooking spray and set aside. Punch down the dough to remove air bubbles, then transfer back to your lightly floured counter top. Knead the dough once or twice.
Then cut it into 32-34 equal pieces. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic. Roll each piece into a long strip and form into a pretzel shape. Transfer the pretzel shapes to your greased cookie sheets as you make them. Allow the pretzel shapes to sit out on the counter for about 15 minutes (so they can rise slightly) before moving onto the next step. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Place a shallow (big) pot on the stove and fill with about 2 inches of water, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, add 1/3 cup baking soda (step back it fizzes a bit). Add 2 tbsp white sugar, and reduce to a simmer.
Then place the pretzels in the water (about 4-6 at a time depending on the size pot) using a spatula and poach on each side for 1 minute. Remove from water using a slotted spoon and place them back on the cookie sheet. Mix 1 egg with 1 tbsp water and brush that on the pretzels
Sprinkle with salt and place them in the oven for 12-15, until golden brown. Let them cool for about 5 minutes. They taste best eaten right away! You can store them about two days in an uncovered container.
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