Something Different : Soft Pretzels

For Sunday lunch we had some day old rye bread and coleslaw on the menu, not too flash - I fancied something fresh and warm with the weather being so wet outside.  After considering a few things like foccacia, bagels and soda bread, I opted for a new recipe - soft pretzels.

I've never had fresh pretzels before, only the cracker-like ones from a pack.  I jumped in totally blind and was really pleased, and surprised, with the result.  They have a distinct pretzel taste, a chewy crust and perfect crumb.  I substituted about a fifth of my flour with rye flour to make them extra tasty.

I also tested one batch on conventional bake and one fan forced.  The batch cooked with conventional bake were darker and had a better crust than those cooked on fan forced, so I'll stick with conventional bake next time.

Soft Pretzels
Makes 10 'breakfast' sized pretzels

2t Brown Sugar
22g Yeast, Dried Active or Instant
375ml Water, Blood Temperature
575g Bread Flour, Plus Extra for Dusting
2t Salt, Plus Extra for Topping
¼C Baking Soda
1 Egg

Mix sugar, yeast and warm water and leave to activate for 10 minutes.  Add in flour and salt and stir till it starts to come together into a ball.  Tip out onto work surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic (the dough will be quite sticky, just scrape down your hands and bench a couple of times as you go, it will come together).

Dust your work surface to keep the dough from sticking and divide into pieces (I made 10 which turned out about the size of a breakfast bagel).  Form into rounds and rest for 10 minutes.  Roll out into 30cm long sausages and twist into pretzels (I used this diagram).  Lay on a baking tray lined with baking paper and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes then refrigerate for another 30 minutes.

15 minutes before the pretzels are due out of the fridge turn oven onto 220ºC (425F) bake and put a medium sized pan with 1 litre of water on to boil.  When the water comes to the boil add the baking soda - a little at a time, it fizzes like crazy!  Turn water down to medium-low.

Gently remove pretzels from the tray, one at a time, and poach in the baking soda solution for a minute on each side.  Remove with a slotted spoon and return to baking tray.  When all the pretzels are poached beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush over tops of pretzels - this makes them nice and glossy.  Sprinkle with a little salt and bake for 15 minutes, swapping trays half way through if using conventional bake (which gives a much better colour).

Poached Pretzels