Hard pretzels don't really do much for me. Sure, they're oft-lauded as a great healthy snack, but honestly, I'd rather have a bowl of kale. Even the peanut butter-filled kind, while marginally better than plain ones, leave me unsatisfied--not to mention thirsty.
But soft, buttery pretzels, hot out of the oven, with a lightly crisp exterior and a chewy, yet puffy interior are a totally different story. Serve them with tangy mustard or creamy cheese sauce for the ultimate game night/ballgame/study session snack (don't forget the cold beer!). You could probably even get away with serving them (plus soup and maybe a light salad) for an easy supper.
Most importantly, they're super-simple to make, using pizza dough (check out my latest book for more on this glorious product!). Make it yourself, or pick it up at the store and go from there.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 1 recipe pizza dough $1.50
- flour for rolling Pantry
- 1 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted $1
- 2 tablespoons large-grain salt, such as sea salt or kosher salt (optional) Pantry
Recipe Serves 5-7
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Fill a large pot with 10 cups of water. Place on the stove over high heat and whisk in the baking soda. Bring water to a light boil.
- Meanwhile, roll the dough out into ten 12-inch ropes on a lightly floured surface.
- To roll a pretzel shape, draw the ends of the rope together to form a circle. Twist the ends together once or twice. Layer the twisted ends onto the bottom curve of the shape. You can use a little water to wet the ends to make them stick. Here's a video tutorial.
- Working in small batches, drop the pretzel-shaped pieces of dough into the water, boil for 30 seconds seconds, and then transfer to the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake until pretzels are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle lightly with the salt.
- Serve plain or with desired dipping sauce (see headnote).
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What They're Saying
Lindsay, on Jan 13, 06:11 PM, wrote:
What does boiling the pretzels do? I’ve seen other recipes that skip that. Thanks!
Gabi Moskowitz, on Jan 16, 09:58 AM, wrote:
Hi Lindsay! The boiling in baking soda water helps develop the distinct pretzel flavor, as well as ensure a toothsome exterior and a chewy, soft interior.
Camren, on Jan 21, 01:59 PM, wrote:
My partner has celiac disease, and I’m not much of a baker (been learning since he was diagnosed tho) and gluten free flours / breads / etc are not cheap. I’ve bookmarked a number of your recipes to try for him. Made these pretzels yesterday (used the pizza dough recipe from http://minimalistbaker.com/the-best-gluten-free-pizza-crust-sauce/) and they came out GREAT. My kitchen looked like a flour bomb went off, but it was soooo worth it. None of the weird crumbliness I was expecting from typical GF crap. Tasted like real, super yummy pretzels.
Wish I’d realized I’d need parchment paper. Seems to be the thing I can never seem to remember to buy when I’m at the store. Pretzels were difficult to pry off the cookie sheet, even though I’d lightly greased it and de-stuck them once during the baking process.
Thanks for your website! And thanks for the recipe :)
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status saver, on Sep 12, 12:08 AM, wrote:
Thanks for this awesome recipe
Leroy steckler, on Oct 11, 08:07 AM, wrote: