homemade pretzels

next time you are sitting at home with nothing to do, make pretzels instead!

homemade pretzels are the definition of not much effort for lots of gain! the recipe is easy, the folding is fun and they taste really really good!

the magic, chewy outsides of a pretzel is created by dipping them briefly into boiling water with bicarb soda (you can do the same thing to make bagels too!) - if you are keen to read up on food science behind it all, check out this page. come on, geek out with me!


homemade pretzels
barely adapted from alton brown

the pretzels:
375ml (1 ½ cups) warm water
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
7g (one pack) instant dry yeast
625g (4 ¼ cups) plain flour
2 tbs olive oil

the water boiling bit:
2 ½ litres water
⅔ cup bicarb soda

the post-boil glazing:
1 free range egg yolk beaten with 1 tbs water
extra salt

combine the water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and allow to stand for 5 minutes or until it starts to foam (to check if it is alive and re-activate the dry yeast)
add the flour, salt and olive oil
mix on a low speed until a dough forms
mix on a medium speed for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic
cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put the bowl in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size

preheat the oven to 220°C and line two baking trays with baking paper
in a large pot, bring the water and bicarb soda to a rolling boil
turn the dough out onto a clean bench and knock back (aka punch all the air out)
divide the dough into 16 even pieces - do this by making a long sausage, cut it in half then cut each half into half and half and half again! voila! 16 pieces!
roll each piece into a long sausage. make a u-shape with the rope and cross over the ends, pressing them down to the bottom part to form the classic pretzel shape! see - easy!
once they are all rolled up, place each pretzel in the boiling water (I did them in pairs) for 30 seconds, scoop them out and place them onto the baking trays
brush the top with the egg yolk glaze, sprinkle with lots of extra salt and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until dark and golden. enjoy!