Soft Pretzels

bread

Soft Pretzels — front of the card
front
Soft Pretzels — back of the card
back

40 min active · 2 hr 22 min total (times estimated)

Ingredients

  • 3 cups warm water
  • 2 packages dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 8 to 9 cups white flour
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons water (for egg wash)
  • Coarse salt (for topping)

Steps

  1. Combine the warm water, dry yeast, sugar, and salt. Let stand for one hour.
  2. Add the oil and 8 to 9 cups of white flour. Knead for about 10 minutes.
  3. Place the dough in a greased, covered bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.
  4. Once doubled, pinch off a golf-ball-sized piece of dough and roll it out on a board into a rope about 15 inches long.
  5. Shape each rope into a pretzel: lift both ends to form a loop, bring the left end of the loop over the right end and the right end under the left. A twist will form at the center. Bring the ends over and press them down against the sides of the loop.
  6. Dilute the egg yolk with 2 teaspoons of water. Brush a thin coat of this egg wash over each pretzel.
  7. Sprinkle each pretzel with coarse salt.
  8. Bake on a greased cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 475°F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
  9. Serve piping hot, at room temperature, or reheated. Mustard makes a great accompaniment.