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Soft Pretzels
Chewy, deep-brown soft pretzels made with a quick baking soda bath before baking.
Ingredients
| Volume | Grams |
|---|---|
| Dough | |
| 4 cups all-purpose flour | 480 g |
| 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast | 6.8 g |
| 1 tbsp granulated sugar | 12.4 g |
| 1 1/2 tsp table salt | 9 g |
| 1 1/2 cups warm water | 340 g |
| 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted | 28 g |
| Bath and topping | |
| 10 cups water | 2270 g |
| 2/3 cup baking soda | 192 g |
| 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp water | 14 g |
| 1 tbsp coarse pretzel salt | — |
Gram weights use the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart; “—” means the ingredient isn’t on the chart, so measure it by volume or count. Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling, or better, weigh it.
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, add the warm water and melted butter, and knead 5–6 minutes until smooth. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 450 °F and line two baking sheets with greased parchment. Bring the water to a boil in a wide pot and carefully stir in the baking soda.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a 24-inch rope, form a U, twist the ends together twice, and press them onto the bottom of the U.
- Boil the pretzels one or two at a time for 30 seconds, lifting them out with a slotted spatula onto the sheets.
- Brush with the yolk wash and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake 12–14 minutes, until deep brown. Eat warm.
Tips
- Add the baking soda slowly; it foams up.
- Skip the salt and toss warm pretzels in cinnamon sugar for a sweet version.
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