Recipe:
Ingredient notes:
- Flour. This recipe calls for regular all-purpose flour with a protein content of about 10%. If you use a stronger bread flour, remember that it will absorb more moisture, so you will need slightly less by weight.
- Yeast. The recipe calls for dry yeast. If you substitute fresh yeast, triple the amount of dry yeast in the dough.
- Soda water. Dipping the dough in a hot soda solution creates the distinctive brown crust characteristic of pretzels and bagels. This process also gives the crust a certain texture. All in all, it turns out that baking soda is an essential and irreplaceable ingredient in this case.
Let’s start cooking.
Make the dough. Add the yeast to the room temperature water – I usually sprinkle it on the surface, let it soak a bit, then stir until it dissolves.
Add sugar and salt. Gradually add the sifted flour and begin to knead. Knead until the dough is smooth. The dough may be a little sticky – this is normal.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel or plate, and let rise for 1-2 hours (the exact time depends on the temperature in your kitchen). The dough should double in volume during this time.
Grease a work surface with vegetable oil and transfer the dough to it without kneading. Form the dough into a rectangular shape.
Combine the water and baking soda in a wide-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and dissolve the soda. Remove from heat.
Cut the rectangle of dough lengthwise into 8 strips (I find it easiest to use a pizza cutter).
Separate one strip and dip it into the hot soda water.
Remove, shake off the moisture, and form a pretzel on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining strips. I baked in 2 steps, 4 pretzels per baking sheet.
Sprinkle sugar on the pretzels.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 9-10 minutes. If your oven has a convection fan, you can turn it on for the first 5 minutes of baking, then bake without it.
Remove the pretzels from the baking sheet and serve.
These are best eaten fresh. But if you have them for tomorrow, you can easily refresh them and bring back the crunchy crust. To do this, preheat the oven to the highest temperature setting, place the pretzels on a baking sheet, spray them with water from a spray gun, and heat for 3-4 minutes.
Enjoy!
