Homemade Soft Pretzels

According to the Foods Guy, "All pretzel dough has the same flour-to-water ratio, which is 1 cup of liquid for every 3 cups of flour. Once you have that taken care of, there can be slight variations in sugar and some recipes call for beer instead of or in addition to the barley malt syrup"

Pretzels get their unique flavor and texture thanks to two unique features:

• The malt syrup, which is the same kind used for brewing beer and
• The baking soda bath that is used to prep the pretzel before it’s baked. The pretzels are dipped in the bath for 10-20 seconds and typically float when they are finished. This process gelatinizes the starch on the pretzel's surface making it gummy and sticky, allowing the salt to adhere more readily.

The baking soda, or alkaline solution, is simply a boiling hot mixture of water and baking soda that the pretzel is dipped into for 30 seconds or so before it’s baked. This process essentially gelatinizes the outside of the dough, giving it a golden-brown color and preventing the inside dough from rising like bread does. Instead, the pretzel develops a chewy, slightly crispy outer crust with the signature pretzel flavor and the center remains soft and doughy.

Soft pretzels are best when eaten the same day. You can try Alton Brown’s Best Mustard Ever for dipping, or any other good mustard. Another dip that would be good is Beer Cheese Dip.

Also see Bobby Flay's easy Soft Pretzel with Queso Poblano Sauce and Mustard Sauce recipe below.

Bavarian Pretzels
from https://www.foodandwine.com/

All it takes is a few additional ingredients to transform ho-hum soft pretzels into something magical. A few pats of butter, barley malt syrup for earthy sweetness, and replacing some of the water with beer all lend depth for a more rustic, nuanced taste. An extended fermentation in the refrigerator overnight—rather than a quick rise—adds even more complexity, as does topping the pretzels with crunchy flaky sea salt. But the distinctive “pretzel” flavor comes from dipping the shaped dough in an alkaline solution before baking. (Food scientist Harold McGee discovered that heating baking soda in a low oven alters its pH, making it more similar to lye, and his baked baking soda is the secret ingredient for these exceptional homemade pretzels.)

From https://www.eatthelove.com/: German-style pretzels, are dipped in a lye solution, while American soft pretzels usually rely on an easier baking soda dip. Both baking soda and lye are alkaline solutions that caramelize and create the signature bitter crust on pretzels. However, food grade lye is significantly more alkaline than baking soda. The hard caramelized crust you get from dipping the pretzel in lye isn’t achievable with just baking soda. In fact, the German word for pretzels are laugenbrezel which literally translated to “lye pretzels.” The higher the alkaline solution the more it breaks down proteins on the surface of the dough, accelerating the Maillard reaction. This reaction is the caramelization reaction that gives browned food.

Malt syrup is a sweetener made from barley malt grain. It is traditional used in baking and in pretzels as well as bagels. It helps feed the yeast, gives the dough a very slight sweetness that is associated with soft pretzels and helps promote the browning in the crust of the pretzel. If you don’t have access to malt syrup, you can substitute an equal amount of honey or brown sugar. Again, realize when you substitute for the malt syrup, your pretzels will shift slightly in flavor and won’t taste quite as “pretzel-y” nor will they be quite as brown as if you had used the barley malt syrup.

Forming these pretzels can seem tricky at first glance, but once you have the dough ropes in your hands, it flows like clockwork. Follow the instructions about handling the baking soda solution with care; while much safer than lye, it can burn your hands, as well as corrode aluminum pans. (No need to panic; just wear gloves, turn on your oven vent, and line your pans.)

These pretzels are best the day they’re made, preferably hot out of the oven.

Dough:
3/4 cup warm water (100°F to 115°F), plus more as needed
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 tablespoons barley malt syrup [use honey or brown sugar if the barley malt syrup is not available]
4 3/4 cups unbleached bread flour (about 21 3/4 ounces), plus more as needed for dough
3/4 cup lager beer or pilsner beer
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Cooking spray
1/3 cup baking soda [baked baking soda - see below]
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon whole milk
6 cups tap water, plus more as needed for dough
Flaky sea salt

Mix Dough and Ferment in Frig 8 - 24 hours

Place 3/4 cup warm water in bowl of a stand mixer; sprinkle with yeast. Stir in barley malt syrup until dissolved. Let mixture stand until yeast is foamy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add flour, beer, butter, and kosher salt; using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir until a shaggy dough forms.

Attach bowl and dough hook to stand mixer. Beat on medium-low speed until dough comes together and forms a smooth ball, about 1 minute. Dough should be quite firm and may be slightly tacky but not sticky. If dough is sticky, add flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, and beat until dough is smooth. If dough is too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, and beat until smooth.

Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl greased with cooking spray; turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and let dough rise in refrigerator until almost doubled in size, at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

Bake the Baking Powder to Raise the pH and make it more alkaline (closer to lye which is traditionally used to Boil the Pretzels)

While dough rises, preheat oven to 300°F. Spread baking soda in a small glass or ceramic baking dish, and bake in preheated oven 1 hour. Remove from oven, and let cool completely, about 10 minutes. Store cooled baking soda in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.

Baking soda can be baked up to 6 weeks ahead.

Heating the baking soda will break it down from sodium bicarbonate (the chemical name for baking soda) to sodium carbonate, making it even more alkaline. Sodium carbonate is somewhere between a 10 and 11 on the pH scale, a significant jump from the 8.3 pH of baking soda. See also Baked Baking Soda

Shape the Pretzels and Let Rise

Turn dough out onto an unfloured work surface, and firmly press down to deflate. Cut dough into 8 portions. Working with 1 portion at a time and keeping remaining dough covered, pat dough down with your fingertips to form a 3 1/2- by 5 1/2-inch rectangle. Beginning on one long side, roll dough up tightly, forming a loaf shape; pinch seam together on bottom of loaf.

Shape each loaf into a rope by rolling it against the work surface with your palms, applying mild pressure and working from the center outward. (If you need more friction, moisten work surface with a few drops of water, dispersing it evenly with your hands.) Continue rolling until dough rope is 14 to 16 inches long and begins to shrink back toward middle. Set dough rope aside, and cover. Repeat process with remaining 7 dough pieces.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. [Coat with oil or butter or the pretzels will stick to the paper when baked. Return first rolled dough rope to work surface, and continue rolling rope to a length of about 30 inches, leaving middle about 1 inch in diameter and tapering ends by applying a little more pressure as you work your way out. Shape 30-inch dough rope into a U shape, positioning ends of the U pointing away from you. Holding one end in each hand, lift and cross ends over each other about 5 inches down from ends. Cross ends again, passing ends to opposite hands, creating a twist in the dough.

Holding ends and maintaining twist, fold ends toward bottom of U. Allowing for a 1/4 inch overhang on each side, press ends into bottom of U at 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock. Gently transfer shaped pretzel to prepared baking sheet; cover loosely with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough ropes, working in the order in which they were rolled, spacing shaped pretzels 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.

Let covered pretzels rise in a warm place until puffy and increased in size by half, 30 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 500°F with racks in upper third and lower third positions. Stir together egg and milk; set egg wash aside.

To Freeze the Pretzels to bake later: Pretzels tend to dry out if not eaten right away and can be frozen to bake later. From a poster on Reddit: The dough won't hold up too well after the alkaline dip. When we did pretzels at the restaurant, we'd get the dough made and shaped into the pretzel [and proofed], then freeze them at this stage. Then, you can take them out of the freezer and throw them in the bath while they're still frozen (easier to handle this way too, no unfolded soggy dough). Leave them on a tray for a few min to finish defrosting. Now you can bake them. If you'd like you can bake them all the way. At the restaurant, this is where we'd par-bake them, and then finish to order. If you really want to get as much prep done as possible before NYE, this is how you should do it!

Boil the Pretzels, Add Egg Wash and Salt

Place baked baking soda in a wide stainless steel (nonreactive) saucepan, and add 6 cups tap water. With range hood vent running on high, bring mixture to a gentle simmer over high, stirring gently to dissolve baking soda. Reduce heat to low, and maintain a very gentle simmer. Using a large skimmer or fish spatula, gently place 1 or 2 pretzels in alkaline water. Cook 20 seconds, carefully flipping after 10 seconds. Using skimmer, lift pretzels from alkaline water, allowing excess to drip off, and transfer to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, placing at least 1 inch apart. (Pretzels will be wrinkly.)

Wearing rubber gloves, reshape pretzels on baking sheet as needed. Repeat with remaining pretzels. Quickly brush tops and sides of pretzels with egg wash, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Bake Pretzels

Immediately bake pretzels at 500°F until deep mahogany in color, 9 to 12 minutes, rotating pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Transfer pretzels to wire racks, and let cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 pretzels

Soft Pretzels with Queso Poblano Sauce and Mustard Sauce
Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay, 2008

Make the Queso Poblano Sauce.

Make the Mustard Sauce: Whisk together the mustards and honey, to taste, until combined. Let sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

For the Soft Pretzels: Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper and spray liberally with vegetable spray.

Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

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.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 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, 2 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. Remove with a large flat slotted spatula or a spider. Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet, 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. Dip into desired sauces.

If you keep the pretzels in an airtight container at room temperature, they will last for one to two days.

Makes 8 pretzels

Beer Pretzel Variations

Make these into pretzel bites: Divide and shape the dough into eight balls, and roll each into a 12-inch rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Boil and top as directed, then bake at 400° for six to eight minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown. This yields eight dozen.

Turn these into pretzel rolls: Divide and shape the dough into eight balls, and roll each into a 14-inch rope. Starting at one end of each rope, loosely wrap the dough around itself to form a coil. Boil, top and bake as directed. This yields eight pretzel rolls.