German Pretzels

Alright - so I have lived here in Germany since April of 2011 and I have yet to attempt making German Pretzels. I love them! I order them anytime I'm at a bakery! They are practically a food group in my mind! However, until two nights ago I never thought they could be so complicated. I will confess that it took me three different recipes at an average of two to three times PER recipe to perfect these delicious treats. Thank goodness for perseverance right?! Go figure the recipe I loved most was from my new favorite website Pinterest! I believe it was a mix of Bobby Flay's recipe with some down home cooks that resulted in this quirky yet delicious recipe. (They used light brown sugar in the dough - I mean who does that?!) Enough talk already I know...let's get to baking!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 ounces butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or you can use all-purpose)
Non-stick cooking spray
12 cups of water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea salt

Directions:

Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in a bowl with a whisk (or a dough hook if you’re using a mixer) until it’s combined. Let this set for 5 minutes – or until the yeast activates.

Sprinkle in the salt and flour while continuing to whisk until everything is combined. (After about 3 cups of flour you might find it necessary to use a mixer with dough hooks or just get in there and use your hands! Continue kneading the dough until it’s smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. If the dough appears too wet, you can add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a flat surface to knead it into a ball with your hands.

Use the non-stick cooking spray to grease a bowl, then add the dough and turn to coat with the cooking spray. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size – this will take about 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda. (Ok I believe you can add the baking soda before bringing to a boil but I did it after bringing it to a boil. The caution with doing it my way is that it will cause the water to foam up a few inches at a time in the pan until it is dissolved so make sure you only add about a tablespoon at a time so that you don’t spill over your pan.)

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces, about 4 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape: take the right side and cross over to the left. Cross right to left again and flip up. Boil the pretzels in the water solution, 1 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. (Be very gentle when you splash the tops with the warmed water though because the pretzels may become unglued and then you just have a pretzel rope lol – this may or may not have happened to me.) Continuing on…remove the pretzel with a large flat slotted spatula. Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. 

They are fabulous by themselves, but feel free to whip up a quick cheese sauce, dip them in mustard, or dunk them in cream cheese. 

Pictures:

Finally!

 

 See how the bottom pretzel is practically double the size of the other two - 

that's what happens after you dunk it in the water/baking soda solution...poof!

Egg washed and salted - ready for the oven...

Um...YA! Devour!!!