Happy Monday Everyone!
I am so happy to announce that I am no longer a single parent! The hubs got back from his Revolution shoot on Thursday and it’s been so nice having him home. Unfortunately it seems as though my “food poisoning” {aka stomach flu} decided to stick around and prey on another victim so please send your well wishes his way. And send even MORE well wishes to Keelin so that it skips her all together. Not sure how I’ll handle it if it gets to her too. *praying praying praying*
In other news, I thought I would kick off the week right by linking up! I had such a great time with this link up during my link UP week, and seeing as how I did a little baking while the hubs was away, I thought I’d join in again with Now Bake This!
I’d been meaning to make these bad boys for months… no, years. Ever since our friend Ike whipped up a batch a few New Year’s Eves ago. They were so delicious and I knew I had to make them. The only problem back then was that I didn’t have a stand mixer and was lacking in the skills {lazy} to try it without. But once I got my beloved stand mixer, his name is Linus, I knew I had to give them a try. Don’t ask why it still took me like 2 years to finally make them.
Feast your eyes {and hopefully soon your taste buds} on these delicious treats.
YUM!
These are my incredibly successful attempt at Alton Brown’s Soft Pretzels. Holy crap are they scrumptious.
The recipe is somewhat involved but pretty straight forward. Keeping with my normal recipe-sharing-habit, I’ll give you the low down of how it went down in my kitchen.
What you need:
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
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
What to do: (directions from Food Newtork)
Combine water, sugar and 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.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
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.
If you’re in the mood for something more snack-sized, cut the pieces into tiny bites.
Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1 for twisted – a few at a time for bites, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Warning.. I’m a big fan of cleaning drips and spills while I go, but when it comes to the baking soda bath… there is no point. Your stove will be covered in little white splotches {see bottom corner of photo} so just wait until you are done with the water bath before cleaning up. Avoid the frustration.
Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with beaten egg yolk/water mixture and sprinkle with pretzel salt. {I just used kosher salt, which worked great for me because sometimes soft pretzels are a little TOO salty}
Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes.
Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Holy yum!
I basically ate the whole tray in one night {while taking a bubble bath} but did pop a few in the freezer to enjoy later on.
Try these out yourself and let me know how they go!
Join the link up with your own baking success!
