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Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 large egg, whisked with 2 tablespoons water
- Coarse kosher or sea salt
Details
Preparation
Step 1
1. Combine the yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Let sit for a few minutes and then stir together. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, until mixture begins to foam.
2. Combine flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl, and whisk to combine. Add to the yeast and water mixture in the stand mixer, and stir to form a shaggy dough.
3. Knead with the dough hook attachment on low speed for 5 minutes, pushing the dough down if it begins to creep up the hook. Dough should be quite dry. If it is still sticky after 1 minute, add more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until dough is slightly tacky and holds a ball shape.
4. Remove dough from the mixer. Oil the inside of a large mixing bowl using the canola oil, and place dough ball in the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm place for about 1 hour. The dough should double in volume.
5. Punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles, and turn it out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal chunks using a chef's knife or bench scraper. Roll each chunk out into a rope about 18 inches long. Lift the ends of the rope away from you, toward the top of your work surface. Cross them and twist once, then fold the twist back down over the bottom loop to make the pretzel shape.
6. Place the pretzels on a parchment-lined baking sheet as you make them, keeping them covered with a towel as you add them to the baking sheet. When they are all shaped, let them sit, covered, for 30 minutes until they become puffy.
7. Preheat the oven to 450°F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
8. Fill a wide, deep pot (such as a Dutch oven) about 3 inches deep with water and bring to a rapid simmer. Be sure there is plenty of room left in the pot, because when you add the baking soda, it will foam vigorously, nearly doubling in volume. Add the baking soda and brown sugar, and stir to dissolve. Reduce heat to medium to keep water simmering.
9. Lower 2 to 3 pretzels at a time into the water bath. Poach for 30 seconds, then use a slotted spatula to flip the pretzels over and poach for another 30 seconds on the other side. Lift the pretzels out of the water, one at a time, and return to the baking sheet. They should look a bit puffier than when they went into the water, and slightly puckered. Repeat with the remaining pretzels.
10. Use a pastry brush to brush the pretzels with the egg wash, and sprinkle them with salt.
11. Bake pretzels for 12-15 minutes, until they are deep brown and glossy. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on a wire rack before serving with an assortment of your favorite mustards.
Tip: Store pretzels in an open container or a paper bag for up to 1 day. If stored in an air-tight container, they will become gummy.
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