Homemade Soft Pretzels

The original recipe for these pretzels had them stuffed with cheese and that is how I made them. However, when eating them, the cheese flavor was barley noticeable. So I started thinking about how to change that. My first thought was to add more shredded cheese in the middle, but with the original amount of shredded cheese it was a bit of a pain to enclose the cheese in the pretzels and I could not imagine doing it with more shredded cheese. Then I thought about using cheese sticks because that would be so much easier and add more cheese, but I realized I would not be able to shape them into the pretzel shape. Then my husband said he prefers to dip his pretzel in cheese rather than have the cheese on the inside and that's when I knew to just remove the cheese from the inside and make these a regular soft pretzel. My family absolutely loved these pretzels, so removing the cheese would make them so much easier to make, but not really change the taste they loved.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• large pot of water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water
• coarse salt

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the water and sugar with a spoon. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and allow to sit for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is foamy. Add in the melted butter and stir with a spoon to combine.
2. In another large bowl whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the water mixture. With the dough hook attached, mix on low speed until all of the ingredients have been combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Remove the dough from the mixer and place in a clean oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 450º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.
5. Place a large pot of water over a stove burner and add in the baking soda. Turn the heat on to high and bring the water to a boil, watching carefully so it does not boil over because of the baking soda.
6. Meanwhile turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled counter and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into an 24 inch rope. Shape the rope into a pretzel but grabbing the ends and forming the letter u. Then cross the ends over each other and press into the bottom of the u. For an added twist cross the end over twice before pressing into the bottom of the u. Make sure the ends are well pressed into the bottom of the u, so the pretzels holds it shape for the next step. Place the pretzels on the parchment lined baking sheets.
7. Once the water has reached a full boil, drop the pretzels in 1 at a time and boil for 30 seconds, while constantly spooning boiling water over the top of the pretzel. Remove the pretzel using a large slotted spatula and return the parchment lined baking sheets.
8. In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk and water. Brush the tops of the boiled pretzels with egg wash and sprinkle with desired amount of coarse salt.
9. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the pretzels are dark golden brown in color. Transfer the pretzels to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!!

Nutrition Facts
Serves: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories 304
Total Fat		6.5g
Saturated Fat		3.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat		0.3g
Monounsaturated Fat		1.5g
Trans Fat		0g
Cholesterol		36.2mg
Sodium		1547.8mg
Potassium		2.3mg
Total Carbohydrates		51.1g
Dietary Fiber		2.2g
Sugars		1.6g
Protein		7.1g
Vitamin A 4.11% Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0.28% Iron 0.33%
*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.

*Adapted from Oh Sweet Basil.