ok i promised on twitter i would write out my pretzel recipe and im gonna be honest this is probably the best format but im putting it under a readmore cause its gonna get long. these take me about two hours to make
also heres the batch i made as an example for this writeup
for the dough ~ 3 1/2 cups flour - 1 1/2 cup water (warm, not hot) ~ 1 tbsp yeast - 1 tbsp sugar - 1 tsp salt - 1 tbsp butter (melted)
for everything else - 1 egg ~ 1/4 cup baking soda - more water (for boiling) - bigger salt, like the stuff they put in salt grinders - shredded cheese (optional but i like it and its worth a try)
oh youll need a clean brush (like a paintbrush? but you can improvise probably) for this shit too
ok
1) put1.5 cups water, 1 tbsp yeast, and 1 tbsp sugar in a bowl. mix it all up, wait a few minutes for the mixture to start fizzing
like this. youll know it when you see it.
2) add in 3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tbsp butter, mix until it all collects into a very sticky ball
3) wash your hands, put some flour on a cutting board, get the ball out of the bowl onto the cutting board, and work the other 1/2 cup flour into the dough. do not be gentle. you’re looking for it to not stick to the board when you push it down, but not enough that it won’t stick to itself when you fold your pretzels later.
4) once you have your dough, you can let it sit while you fill a pot halfway with water and some baking soda (the amount isnt That specific but i use a pretty normal sized pot and about a quarter cup of baking soda and it turns out fine) and grease your pan. you can also start preheating your oven here if you want, or you can wait for step 6
5) split the dough into 10 roughly equal pieces, roll them out, and fold them into a pretzel shape. hold on i got a step by step
5a) roll em out, i tend to keep the rope about. i dunno. 1/2 ~ 3/4 of an inch wide or something, try to keep it as even as possible
5b) fold the ends over each other, about here
5c) twist the ends, squish the tips
5d) fold the whole thing over itself, fold the tips back under. you can stretch the whole thing a bit if the shape isnt right, its fine, do whatever
6) once you finish folding all your pretzels, set the pot of water+baking soda to boil, and preheat the oven to 425 if you didn’t before. grab one egg, crack it into a small bowl, and beat it until its even (theres ten i promise but the other three didnt fit on this cutting board so theyre behind me on the other one)
7) once the water starts to boil, you can start putting them in for about 15~20 seconds for each side (i usually put them in upside down and then flip them right side up when i put the other one in because i go two at a time. also i use a wide pasta spoon for getting them out. please be careful with boiling water)
8) lay them out on the baking sheet as you take them out of the baking soda bath, and then brush the beaten egg all over them
9) slap some salt and/or shredded cheese on top of those bad boys. follow your heart for the amounts. i cant tell you what to do
10) put them in the oven (on the like, lower middle rack) for about 7~8 minutes, until they just barely start to brown on top
11) move them up a rack, swap the oven to broil, and broil the tops to your preference (i give it about 3 minutes for mine!)
12) take em out, put em on a cooling rack, some cheese dip (optional but Highly recommended.) and enjoy?? also send me a pic i wanna see.
