Do you ever want those melt-in-your-mouth soft pretzels from the mall without having to actually go there and fight the crowds, pay too much, and wonder what’s actually in them? The answer is to make them yourself. This recipe makes 8, but we usually double the recipe because you can’t stop with just one!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 115 degrees F)
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 1/2 – 4 cups freshly milled whole wheat flour
Baking soda solution:
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp baking soda
Directions:
Heat water and add to your Bosch mixer. Add yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. Add honey, salt and start mixer at speed 1. Slowly start adding flour until dough clears the side of the bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest for 15-20 minutes. Turn the mixer on to speed 1 for a few seconds to “punch down” the dough. Preheat oven to 425 or 400 convection. Prepare the baking soda solution and keep it nearby.Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Turn onto a wooden cutting board or very lightly floured surface. Divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out like a snake a little thicker than a pencil. Loop and twist into a pretzel shape. Dip into baking soda solution and place on a dishtowel to absorb extra moisture and place dough onto the parchment paper. Repeat with all pieces of dough. Let rise for 10 minutes and place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or 6 minutes on convection. After you remove pretzels from oven brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt, or garlic salt. Dip the pretzels in honey mustard, marinara sauce, or another favorite sauce.