I love a good soft pretzel. I made these with my photographer (she’s also a writer, check out this article on all natural facemasks) for fun the other day, and not once, but twice she actually happy cried. First, when we were rolling the dough together, (well I was rolling she was playing) she cried because the ball of dough was so beautiful and pure, and then AGAIN when we took the pretzels out of the oven and she saw the pretty little twists.
Apparently tears aren’t uncommon when it comes to these pretzels because I made them again and the person who I made them with ALSO cried. If happy tears aren’t convincing enough, they aren’t actually that hard to make. The hardest step is definitely either physically twisting them into a pretzel shape or trying to boil them without losing the shape. After the first or second try, it comes easily.
Soft pretzels are definitely a crowd pleaser, and are certainly one of those things that when you get them right, those who eat them are always impressed. Trust me, the “wow, you actually made these!” and “teach me teach me!” cheers will come. They are definitely worth the wait and the effort.
Homemade Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
Instructions
Mix flour and salt together in one bowl, then add warm milk, warm water, and sugar together in another.
Add yeast into warm milk/water/sugar mixture and stir slightly, wait until it becomes frothy.
Pour yeast mixture into flour and salt.
Mix together until a sticky dough forms.
Pour the sticky dough onto a floured surface and knead. Add flour if you need to stop it from sticking.
Form the dough into a ball once it is smooth and not sticky.
Place it in a lightly oiled bowl in warm place, covered in a damp towel until it doubles in size. This takes about an hour.
Punch that dough. Just once, but yes, punch it.
Cut the dough into 9 even pieces, and then roll them into a log on a lightly floured surface.
Twist them into their signature pretzel shape (or not, whatever shape you like) and place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Let rest for 15 minutes.
Add baking soda to boiling water, then carefully boil those puffy pretzel babes for about 1 minute, then put them back on their baking sheet home. While they’re hot, brush butter and sprinkle salt on them.
#SpoonTip: Try not to let any water back on that baking sheet or else when the pretzels bake they will be weirdly gooey.
Bake them in a preheated oven at 500ºF for 10 minutes.
Remove when golden brown, let them cool for 5 minutes. It’s hard to wait, so brush them with a little more butter and a little extra salt if you like ’em salty.
Gobble them up before they’re gone.