Soft Preztels

I think I may be in love with Alton Brown.  Ever since I first saw Good Eats I was hooked on his blend of science and cooking.  This is his Soft Pretzel recipe and it is everything I hoped it would be.  It wasn't too time consuming at all, especially with our Kitchen Aid mixer to do all the kneading.  It was a nice afternoon project and they look fabulous.  

Well, all but one look fabulous.  The first one I put in the boiling water unwound from it's pretzel shape.  I had the water at too high of a boil, instead of gentle boil and I learned a better way of using the spatula to slowely lower them in instead of just dropping them in.  I managed to get it back in a preztel shape, but it was not attractive, so it was my "quality control" pretzel, meaning I ate it to be sure the rest were okay.  :-)

I think these make a great afternoon or late night snack, and would be great with a nice, cold beer too.  

Soft Pretzels

Alton Brown

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 package active dry yeast

22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted (1/2 a stick)

Vegetable oil, for pan

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Pretzel salt (I used kosher salt.)

Directions:

• Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined.
• Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
• Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
• In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
• Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. 
• Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.