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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Tasty soft pretzels aren’t just a ballpark snack

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Enjoy a ballpark snack at home with this recipe for soft pretzels. (Photos by TONI L.
Enjoy a ballpark snack at home with this recipe for soft pretzels. (Photos by TONI L. SANDYS/The Washington Post) Photo Gallery

Soft pretzels are snacks you might associate with a trip to the ballpark or the county fair. But they’re also a fun make-at-home project.

We found a recipe in “The Young Chef: Recipes and Techniques for Kids Who Love to Cook,” which was written by a famous cooking school called the Culinary Institute of America and chef-instructor Mark Ainsworth.

We have included step-by-step photos for twisting the dough into its familiar shape. It may take a few tries to master, but even the not-perfect pretzels are delicious, especially warm from the oven.

These are best eaten the day they are baked, but if you have leftovers, wrap the completely cooled pretzels in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. Remove plastic, wrap in aluminum foil and reheat in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes.

Soft Pretzels

Makes 8 large pretzels. 

Adult help: Yes. Kitchen gear: Medium and large bowls, stand mixer with dough-hook attachment, plastic wrap, parchment paper, baking sheets, cooling rack. 

Hands-on time: 40 minutes. Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes.

For the dough:

4 cups bread flour

3 teaspoons active dried (instant) yeast

1½ cups warm water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 teaspoons honey

4½ teaspoons salt

For the dipping solution:

4 cups water

3 tablespoons baking soda

For sprinkling:

Coarse kosher or sea salt

1. For the dough: Use a fork to whisk together the flour and yeast in a medium bowl.

2. Combine the warm water, butter, honey and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough-hook attachment. Add the flour-yeast mixture. Beat on low speed for about 1 minute, until blended, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes, or until a smooth dough forms.

3. Cover the mixer bowl tightly with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 20 minutes. The dough should nearly double in size. (If it doesn’t rise, start over with new ingredients.)

4. Place the dough on a clean work surface, then divide it into 8 equal pieces. Use both clean hands to roll each piece of dough into a log that’s about 6 inches long. Loosely cover all the logs with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.

5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

6. Uncover; working with one dough log at a time, roll each one under your palms to form a rope of dough that is 30 inches long and slightly thicker in the middle than on the ends.

7. Hold one end of dough rope in each hand. Cross the ends to form an “X,” with the thicker part of the rope forming an egg-shaped “O” at the bottom.

8. Twist the ends at the top around each other.

9. Fold the ends down over the “O.” Press the ends to the bottom of the pretzel, leaving about 2 inches between them.

10. Make sure the ends are firmly pressed in place. Transfer each one to the baking sheets (4 per sheet) as you work, spacing the pretzels at least 2 inches apart.

11. You’ll need to let the pretzels rest and rise again, this time on the baking sheets. Cover them with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes (at room temperature). The pretzels should about double in size.

12. Uncover the pretzels. Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, so the pretzels form a skin. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

13. Meanwhile, make the dipping solution: Combine the water and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring until the baking soda has dissolved.

14. Working with one at a time, dip each chilled pretzel in the solution. Return them to their places on the baking sheets. While the pretzels are still wet, sprinkle them lightly with salt. Discard the dipping solution.

15. Bake one sheet at a time (middle rack) until golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes. Transfer the pretzels to a wire rack to cool.

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