Soft Pretzels

Today’s pretzel recipe is a Secret Recipe Club Recipe!  If you are unfamiliar, SRC is a monthly challenge in which participants secretly recreate a recipe from their assigned blog.

This month, I was assigned Karen’s blog, Karen Cooks.  Karen is a Midwesterner, like myself, so I felt a certain kinship with her, even though she is much more likely to cook with wild game than I am (if you know a hunter check out her blog!)

Karen is also a baker, so I was immediately drawn to all of her delicious baked goods!   So when it came time to choose a recipe, I chose her soft pretzels.  The reason for choosing this recipe was twofold.  First the pretzels looked amazing!  And second, pretzels were also on my 30x30 list!

Can I tell you how thrilled I am that I made these pretzels?  They were Ah-Mazing!

And though the pretzels were simply amazing on their own, I was also compelled to take it to the next level and stuff these pretzels.  Pizza Stuffed Pretzels = the best.  My family ate this whole batch of pretzels and skipped dinner.  They’re that good.

Soft Pretzels

Recipe from Karen Cooks

Soda Wash

½ cup warm water

2 tbsp baking soda

Dough

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp yeast

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)

½ tsp salt

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

Toppings (optional)

3 tbsp salted butter, melted

Kosher salt

Garlic powder

Italian herbs

Parmesan cheese, grated

Pizza sauce

In a small saucepan, combine the ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda.  Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the pot to a simmer.  Stir the water until the baking soda is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Place the 1 cup of water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Whisk to combine.  Add the salt and flour and mix with the paddle attachment until combined.   Switch to the dough hook and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough forms a smooth ball.  If the dough is too sticky, add a couple more tablespoons of flour.  Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Put the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and spray several baking sheets with non stick spray.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal parts.  Let the dough rest, lightly covered for 3 minutes.

To make stuffed pretzels, stop here and jump to the next set of instructions.  To make regular pretzels continue on…

Pull each section of dough into a long, thin rope and shape into a pretzel.  Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place on the prepared baking sheets, reshaping as necessary.  Let the pretzels rest for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8-10 minutes (5-6 for convection ovens) or until deeply browned.  Brush the pretzels generously with melted butter and sprinkle with the toppings.  I prefer a pinch of garlic powder followed by Italian herbs and/or parmesan cheese.  Serve with dipping sauce, such as pizza sauce.

Stuffed Pretzel Rings

In addition to the ingredients above…

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Mini pepperoni slices

Roll each section of dough into a rectangle about 2 ½ inches wide and as long as possible without ripping the dough.  It is fine if the dough in rolled unevenly.

Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of mozzarella in a thin line (about ½ inch wide) along the center of each rolled out dough section, keeping 1 ½ inches away from the ends.  Sprinkle a small handful of pepperoni slices on top of the cheese.

Carefully roll the dough, section by section to cover the fillings, pinching the seams to close.  Form the filled dough into a ring, pinching the ends to close. 

Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place on the prepared baking sheets.  Let the pretzels rest for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8-10 minutes (5-6 for convection ovens) or until deeply browned.  Brush the pretzels generously with melted butter and sprinkle with the toppings.  I prefer a pinch of garlic powder followed by Italian herbs and/or parmesan cheese.  Serve with dipping sauce, such as pizza sauce.

Serves 4 (or less)