Friday, May 29, 2020

Soft Pretzels Save the Day!

When everything in your little world gets canceled - life gets kind of sad. That's what our weekend was last week. As of this writing (on March 18, 2020) we've been quarantined for COVID-19. While we currently have no signs or symptoms the state shut our schools down, and so many other things down. Well.. that meant all of the fun activities we’d planned for the weekend with the kids with church were all canceled, and as the hours progressed – more and more cancelations came through. Bronwyn was get at the tipping point of falling apart. On a trip to the doctor (for a general consult -she wasn’t sick) she asked me, can’t we just make soft pretzels? Yeah? Why can’t we? That would be great! So Sunday, we decided our cruddy Saturday of sadness, rain, snow, gloomy weather inside and out was going to change. What would change it all? Soft Pretzels.
Sunday midday the boys braved the insanity of the grocery stores, while the girls put together pretzel dough. Oh what a soft and beautiful dough this is. We let it rise then we made pretzels… Not weird shaped things – like legit pretzels – the folded arms and everything. Bronwyn and I were honestly shocked how well we did. We baked them while we ate our lunch – then mmmm enjoyed them as a dessert. Andy and I dipped ours in a bottle of cheese because we are animals – and I refuse to make cheese sauce anymore, but so very good. I took an extra walk in the afternoon after Bronwyn and I took Bernard for a hike, just so I could eat another pretzel.
Enjoy this one – I have a hunch through our undetermined stay indoors – we’ll be making another batch. I hope my flour doesn’t run out… that’s one thing I can’t seem to find. Maybe everyone else is making bread and pretzels – or… probably not.

Soft Pretzels
FOR THE PRETZEL DOUGH
1½ cups warm water
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2¼ teaspoons active dry or instant yeast (1 packet)
4½ cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
FOR THE BAKING SODA WATER BATH
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
FOR THE EGG WASH
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
FOR TOPPING
Coarse salt (for sprinkling)

MAKE THE PRETZEL DOUGH
Combine the water, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to foam.
Add the flour and butter. Use the dough hook attachment to mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes. (Alternately, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it comes together, then need by hand for 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and just slightly tacky.)
Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
Combine the water and baking soda in a large, wide pot (a Dutch oven works perfectly for this). Bring the mixture to a boil.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other twice and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the prepared baking sheets.
Gently lower the pretzels into the boiling water, 2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large, flat spatula. Place the boiled pretzels back on the baking sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash or melted butter (see notes) and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake until dark golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. Soft pretzels are best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

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