Every month can be found to have a whole laundry list of random food holidays associated with it. While most of them aren’t really worth mentioning (Lima Bean Respect Day? What does that even mean?), I felt that one of the holidays this month was truly worth celebrating.
Happy National Soft Pretzel Month!
As a teenager, the mall food court would lure me with the siren song scents of soft pretzels. And while I have moments where I am starting to pine for my lost youth, that non-vegan trash is not on my list of desires. How could it be, when now I can have them at home, freshly made with a blend of spelt flour and enjoyed with an array of fancy mustards and paired with some lager?
Nice.
dough +
a tasty sampling of mustards
= nom!
Supuh Soft Pretzels
1 teas. rapid rise yeast
1 teas. organic sugar or sweetener
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. warm milk of choice
1 tbsp. margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole grain spelt flour (could use wheat or more all-purp)
1/2 teas. salt
3 tbsp. baking soda
3 cups warm water
In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and milk. Let sit for 5 minutes, until yeast is “proofed” and has expanded and made milk look cloudy. In another bowl, combine the flours and salt. Add margarine to the yeast mixture and begin incorporating the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until a smooth dough comes together.
Turn out onto a smooth, clean surface and knead until dough becomes smooth and slightly tacky, but not sticky, adding flour as needed, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment or lightly grease. Punch down dough and knead slightly until it feels uniform. Divide dough into 6 sections and roll each section out to about 12 inches. Let dough sit for a few minutes to relax. While dough is relaxing, mix baking soda with water and stir until soda is dissolved.
Return to dough and roll out some more until each piece is between 18-20 inches long. Fold dough into a pretzel knot and dip into baking soda solution (this gives them their signature flavor and look). Place pretzel on prepared baking sheet and repeat.
Bake pretzels at 450 for 10 minutes, until golden and puffy. Remove from oven and brush with melted margarine or oil and sprinkle with coarse salt before serving.
Yields: 6 servings
23 Responses to put some mustard on it!
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It’s here!
Yummy! Oh man, I used to go crazy for those soft cinnamon sugar pretzels at the mall.. These look way yummier than any mall pretzel!
Ooh, you could easily make these cinnamon sugar by sprinkling that on top instead of salt. Good idea… now I have the perfect excuse to make them again soon!
Y’know what? I’ve never had a soft pretzel. That’s ridiculous right? I think I need to get on it asap!
Never!? You must fix this, immediately!
How did I not know about this soft pretzel holiday?! Pretzels are seriously some of the best things EVER. Yours look delicious. I will have to make a batch once I’m off my ill-timed spell of bread avoidance. Thanks for sharing!
I know- best holiday ever, right? I assure you, they will taste just as good when you are again indulging in bread.
You should have seen me after I’d made pretzels for the first time (it was a test recipe for Celine) – you wouldn’t believe how ridiculously excited I was! For a whole week! Next time I need a mood booster, I’m making your pretzels!
It’s so cool when you make something that seem so *out there* and then you realize how powerful you can be in the kitchen, armed only with some yeast, flour and a spatula. 😉
The only thing bad about home-made pretzels is that they’re not done soon enough.
You speaketh the truth, my friend.
I love love love mustard!! and these look awesome!!!
thanks for sharing
xo
Thanks, Kristine! It’s amazing how many mustards there are and how different they all taste!
These look great but I’m really just here for the mustard sampler!!
Thanks! I’m a plain Jane mustard eater, actually, but my husband has been opening my eyes to the possibilities beyond classic yellow.
Soft pretzels! I made some last autumn, and loved it, but then I kind of forgot about it. Now I will get into the kitchen and make it as soon as possible again. I love the mustard sampler!
Isn’t it funny how you’ll make something and be excited about it and then forget? It’s kind of a blessing, though, because it guaranteed renewed excitement the second time around!
Oh, how delicious! I think you need to start an at-home pretzel baking mail-order company ASAP.
I’ll add that to my list of dream jobs. How cool would it be to bake pretzels all day? I love it when my house smells like yeasty bread.
Would using regular active dry yeast change any of the directions? I’m drooling over these, but that’s all I have in the cupboard.
The rising time would just be differnt I think.
Mmm yummy… I have some smokey onion mustard in my fridge that these would taste yummy with, why did I never think to dip pretzels in mustard???
Hi, I made some pretzels (some pictures posted at my blog, too), and I wanted to point out that you have some conflicting information. You say to preheat the oven to 425, but then to bake them at 450. Is it one or the other or both? I baked them at 425, and they turned out well, so I would think it’s the former. But they also didn’t look like the pictures, so maybe I should have baked them at 450 … Thanks!
Thanks for the noticing that discrepancy! Did you use spelt flour? They look delicious, I love the cinnamon sugar idea.