Yogurt and Pretzels

YAY! We love yogurt around here. And baking. We love to bake, so I tried out this great pretzel recipe from pinterest the other night for dinner. They were DELICIOUS. Quite possibly the best pretzels that I have ever had. I might go make some more right now:)

Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

22 oz all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups

2 oz unsalted butter, melted

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

2 tbsp butter, melted

Pretzel, Kosher, or course sea salt

1. To make the pretzel dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the water, sugar, yeast, and salt on low speed for 10 seconds.  Switch to the dough hook and add the flour and butter.  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 and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Place a barely damp towel over the dough and the formed pretzels to prevent them from drying out while you form the other pretzels.

3. At this point, you can freeze the formed pretzels on the baking sheets.  Once completely frozen, transfer them to a large zipper bag and continue to freeze until you need them.  Use within 2 months.

To make the pretzels: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

4. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an wide 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.  If you’re freezing your formed pretzels, skip this step now and continue with it when you’re ready to boil and bake your pretzels from the freezer.

5. Using a flat spatula, gently lower the pretzels into the boiling water and boil them for 30 seconds.  If boiling the frozen pretzels, add them to the water directly from the freezer – do not thaw them – and boil for a total of 45 seconds. Depending on the size of your pot, boil 2 to 4 pretzels at a time.  Remove the pretzels from the water using the spatula, drain as best you can over the pot, and place them on the baking sheets. 

6. Brush the top of each pretzel with some melted butter and sprinkle with the pretzel/Kosher/sea salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes.  If the pretzels were frozen, bake for an extra 1 to 2 minutes.  Lightly brush pretzels with the remaining melted butter immediately after you remove them from the oven. Serve warm.

*I put regular table salt on after I put the butter on before I put the pretzels in the oven and then I sprinkled it with flax seeds. I did go with the freezing method, too. It worked great.