Soft pretzels. I think I’m addicted to them. Every time we go to the movie theatre or mall I have to have one. The smell alone is heaven…and then add cheese…can you say “yum!”
Well a few weeks ago my husband and I were bored to tears trying to find something worth watching on TV. As usual I was multi-tasking and searching the web for recipes when I came across this one on hanielas.com.
We gave it a try and even added our own twist. Get it, pretzel…twist…I know, cheezy right…okay, I’ll stop.
SOFT PRETZELS
Adapted from Hanielas.com
Yeast Dough
1-1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. honey
1 package dry yeast
2 cup all purpose flour
2-1/2 cup bread flour
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
6 Tbsp. melted butter
Stuffing (optional)
1/4 lb. pepper jack cheese
Baking Soda Solution
5 cups water
1/3 cup baking soda
Egg Wash for brushing
egg yolk
1 Tbsp. water
olive oil to coat the bowl
Topping
pretzel salt
Tools
pastry brush
parchment paper
serrated knife
slotted spoon
Make the Dough
Pour warm water into the bowl of your mixer, add honey and stir in yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. Make sure you use warm water, not hot. Hot water will kill the yeast
Add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 cups of bread flour, melted butter and salt into the bowl with yeast and knead, using a dough hook attachment. If dough is too sticky add additional 1/2 cup of bread flour. This dough when kneaded is somewhat on a dense side. Knead for 5 minutes, or until the dough comes into a smooth ball.
Lightly coat a large bowl with the oil and put the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for an hour.
Preheat oven to 450°F
Invert the dough onto a clean work surface. DO NOT USE ADDITIONAL FLOUR. Cut dough in half. Then cut one half into four pieces. Using palms of your hands roll the dough and form long ropes 16-18-inches long. Form dough into pretzel shape; set aside.
Take remaining half of dough and divide into 8 pieces. Roll these out to 8-10-inches. Using a serrated knife, cut dough lengthwise, being sure not to cut all of the way through, and stuff with stripes of jalapeno cheese. Wrap dough around cheese, pinching to seal them. (I’m bad, I got so caught up in making these I forget to take photos, but here’s the baked version so you can see what I did)
Make the egg wash: mix together water and egg yolk, set aside
Once all dough is formed, bring 5 cups of water to boil, add 1/3 cup baking soda. Dip each pretzel into the simmering solution and let cook for 30 seconds. Remove pieces with slotted spoon and place them on parchment lined baking sheet, continue with remaining dough.
Once done, brush each piece with egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.
Cool slightly, then enjoy…we did!
Conniella 