Germany · Snack · Medium
Soft Pretzels
Rome's most famous pasta. Silky egg and Pecorino sauce clinging to every strand, studded with crisp guanciale. No cream, ever.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Soft Pretzels, in 5 ideas
- Roll from the center outward. Even pressure keeps the rope uniform. Tapered ends are what make the twist look right.
- Do not overboil. Thirty seconds per side is enough. Longer makes the crust bitter and the interior gummy.
- Coarse salt only. Table salt dissolves into the crust and tastes flat. Big crunchy crystals are the point.
- Freeze the shaped pretzels. After shaping, freeze solid on a tray, then bag. Boil and bake straight from frozen, adding 2 minutes.
- Mustard is mandatory. Sharp yellow or spicy brown. Cheese sauce is a fine American addition but the classic is mustard.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (110F)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water
- Coarse pretzel salt or flaky sea salt
How to make it
Directions
- Stir the sugar into the warm water, sprinkle the yeast over, and let it foam for 5 to 10 minutes. If it does not foam, the yeast is dead, start over.
- Mix in the flour, salt, and melted butter. Knead 8 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky.
- Cover and rise in a warm spot 1 hour, until doubled.
- Divide into 8 pieces. Roll each into a rope about 24 inches long, thicker in the middle, tapered at the ends.
- Shape each rope: make a U, cross the ends twice, then fold them down and press onto the bottom of the U to form the classic twist.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and stir in the baking soda. Boil each pretzel 30 seconds per side, then lift out with a slotted spoon onto a parchment lined sheet.
- Brush with egg wash, sprinkle generously with coarse salt, and slash the thick middle once with a sharp knife.
- Bake at 425F for 12 to 15 minutes until deep brown and glossy. Cool 5 minutes before eating.
The baking soda bath is not optional. It gelatinizes the surface so the crust turns dark, shiny, and chewy. Skipping it gives you bread sticks, not pretzels.