bread - soft pretzels

By tinathorn

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 1/4 2 1/4 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1/4 1/4 4 cup (1/2 stick, 4 tbsp) melted butter, warm
• 4 4 4 eggs yolks (optional)
• 3 1/2 3 1/2 1/2 cups (438 g) Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 2 2 tsp xanthan gum
• 8 8 8 cups (~2 liters) water
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup sodium carbonate (*see note #1 below)
• 1 1 1 egg
• Kosher salt
• Notes
• Degrees of Free-dom
• This recipe is: gluten/wheat-free, peanut-free, tree-nut-free, fish-free, shellfish-free, soy-free, vegetarian.
• This recipe can easily be made egg-free by omitting the egg yolks and wash. It can easily be made dairy/lactose/casein-free by substituting Spectrum vegan shortening or similar for the butter.

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from nogluten-noproblem.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and let sit for five minutes, until the yeast is activated and bubbly.
2. Add the melted butter and egg yolks, and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and xanthan gum.
4. Add the liquids to the dry, and stir to form a slightly sticky dough.
5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. (Divide the dough in half, then in half again, and so on until you have 16 pieces.)
7. Roll each piece into a smooth snake about 18 inches long.
8. Form the snake into a big upside-down letter “U.” Cross the tails twice, then flip the loop down over the tails.
9. Place the pretzels on the prepared baking sheets and set in a warm location to let rise for about 1 hour.
10. Toward the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 400 deg F. Combine the water and sodium carbonate in a wide saucepot and bring to a boil.
11. Par-bake the pretzels for 4 minutes, then remove from the oven.
12. Whisk the egg in a small bowl
13. Boil the pretzels for 45 seconds per side (1:30 total) in batches as the size of your pot allows.
14. Return the boiled pretzels to the baking sheets.
15. Use a pastry brush to brush the pretzels with the egg wash and sprinkle with the Kosher salt.
16. Bake for an additional 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the bake time to ensure even browning.