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July 5, 2013 By Kimberly

Spending time at the mall is not what I consider to be an enjoyable time with 5 Little Chefs in tow. Trying to keep everyone together and happy while going from store to store has never been fun for me. So if you said, “Let’s go to the mall” I would most likely pass….even if I really needed to get something. The most enjoyable part of the mall is smelling the pretzels. I have always loved that smell and the bite on the outside of the pretzel and the soft inside. I love the salt with a brush of butter after cooking. Yum! We decided to cook something fun one night and chose Soft Pretzels. To bake anything technical we always seem to turn to Alton Brown and this time was no different.

I had a “Good Eats” episode recorded where Alton made soft pretzels. Little Chef A was up late one night and we decided to watch it together. After it was finished she said we can make those it isn’t that hard. Isn’t that the case with everything they demonstrate on TV. It seems so easy and quick. Then we try it ourselves and it is a lot more time consuming and never is as pretty. (At least it is in our case.) We found Alton’s Soft Pretzel recipe online and made them for movie night. Skipping to the chase they were absolutely everything we thought they would be! These soft pretzels became a hit in one bite and I was asked by my Little Chefs to make them again immediately.

The first step is to combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast. Let it bloom for about 5 minutes. This means the yeast will create bubbles and foam.

Mix in the butter and flour until the dough.

I tell my Little Chefs you know the dough has the right amount of flour when the sides of the bowl are scraped clean. Transfer the dough to a sprayed bowl, cover and let rise in a warm location until doubled in size.

Once doubled the next step is to divide the dough into 8 parts. But first combine the water and the baking soda in a pan and let it come to a boil while you are forming the pretzels.

To divide the dough we found the easiest way is to practice math. Remove the dough from the bowl, take a knife and cut it in half. Now you have 2 equal parts. Divide each of those two parts in two again. Now you have 4 equal parts. Once more divide those parts into two. Now you have 8 equal (or semi equal) parts. Even if they are not exact they are definitely more exact then pulling off some dough and eye balling it. My Little Chefs can understand creating equal parts this way, plus they learn or refresh their dividing skills!

Take one part and form a snake. Thank you play-doh for teaching my kids to create a snake! Form the pretzel with either the double twist in the middle or the single twist. Little Chef A wanted to do the single and they turned out just as well as the double twist. Don’t let forming the pretzel discourage you from making these because they will turn out even when they are not perfect. I know from experience!

By now the water should be boiling. If not you are a lot faster as forming the pretzels then we are! One at a time place a formed pretzel in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Watch that clock carefully. This is where the taste of the pretzel is formed and the outside chew is formed. You do not want to boil these too long.

After 30 seconds remove the pretzel and place on a baking sheet. We always line ours with parchment paper for easy clean up. Let your Little Chef brush the boiled pretzel with butter and then sprinkle the top with salt. Alton’s recipe calls for pretzel salt. I was not able to find that at the regular grocery store so we used Kosher salt instead and loved the result. I  reminded Little Chef D to sprinkle the salt holding her hand up high, far away from the pretzel because I knew she was going to use a lot of salt. Some salt would land on the pretzel while other particles would bounce off and land on the parchment paper. That is fine. I told her enough would stick to the pretzel. Of course she wanted to do it her way and sprinkled the salt close to the pretzel resulting in over salting. I did remind her various times. She would follow my suggestion (that is what she thinks my guidance is!) until I turned my attention to the boiling. She was proud of her contribution and that really is all that matters.

 When all the formed pretzels are boiled, buttered and salted, bake for about 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Once they are finished we like to brush half with butter again and eat the other half with mustard. We love the recipe so much will not be looking for another one any time soon! (Can you see the over salted parts in the picture? It is a good thing salt can be scraped off!)

Sure the shape of the pretzel could be much better and the way to salt the pretzels needs to be improved but I guarantee we will be perfecting the execution of this recipe. This is going to be a favorite for a very long time. Thank you Alton Brown! Now to make a mustard dip…..that will need to be put on our list of to make items!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
  • 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
  • Vegetable oil, for pan
  • 10 cups water
  • 2/3 cup baking soda
  • 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  • Pretzel salt

Instructions

  1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
  3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
  4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled 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 and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
  5. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
  6. Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

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http://www.fivelittlechefs.com/2013/07/soft-pretzels.html

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