Buttery Soft Pretzels

This blog is very much on the back burner, where it will likely stay forever, and that’s kind of where I want it. I don’t like to cook with the intention of blogging – I cook with the intention of eating. I never measure anything and I always adjust to taste, so it is hard for me to take my time and write an exact recipe that works perfectly for anyone other than myself. With that being said, sometimes you nail a recipe and you do measure and you need to save that recipe because next time you make it you want it to be EXACTLY the same. So here are these soft pretzels….

I’ve made soft pretzels a number of times and these are by far the best ones and the only recipe I ever want to make again. They are buttery and pillowy soft and tender and salty and are just like the ones you’d get at the mall when you were a miserably reckless 12 year old. Good times. I’m very confident that these actually could not be any better.

I served these with spicy honey mustard, but any mustard or cheese dip would do.

These pretzels are great with coarse salt, but they would be fantastic as a sweet treat with cinnamon sugar as well. Or you could even go savory with Italian herbs and garlic. Or maybe even mix shredded cheddar in the dough. Yup, this recipe is a definite keeper. I like mine thick and chunky but you could stretch them out a bit more for thinner and larger pretzels. 








Buttery Soft Pretzels

Ingredients: 

1 cup milk (I used almond milk)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tbsp melted unsalted butter + more for brushing on finished pretzels

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup baking soda

3 cups warm water

coarse salt 

Directions:

• Microwave the milk to warm it and stir in the yeast. Let it sit for a couple of minutes or until it begins to froth, then gently stir in the sugar and 1 cup of the flour, then the melted butter.  Slowly add the remaining flour until it is a combined sticky dough. Add more flour if needed to create a ball.
• Lightly grease a large clean bowl, place the dough inside, cover and let sit to rise for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly spray and preheat the oven to 450.  
• Dust a work surface with flour and punch down the dough to deflate it. Flour your hands for easy handling and put dough on work surface. Cut into six pieces, and roll each piece into a rope. Stretch it by swinging it like a jump rope slapping it on the counter. Form each pretzel into shape. Dissolve baking soda in warm water. Dip each pretzel in water then place on baking sheet. Top with a generous sprinkle of sea salt and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter.