ginny makes pretzels

there is this restaurant down the block from my apartment called ox cart with the BEST pretzels i have ever had in my entire life. i don’t know how they make them so yummy but i can safely say they use butter, generously.

the thought of being able to have endless amounts of pretzel at any given time set the gears in motion. of course i had to give it a try by finding a great recipe i could do at home. i searched the internet and came upon alton brown’s soft pretzels. i love alton brown, he rarely fails me, so i had to give it a try.

you will need a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, otherwise, some good ‘ol hand kneading will do just fine. you can add anything you want for toppings. you can make this basic dough savory or sweet just by adding herbs to it or brown sugar and cinnamon. i made a savory pretzel by added garlic salt, onion powder, and herbes de provence after brushing on the egg yolk.

in the end, the pretzels didn’t come out quite like the ones i have at ox cart. i have no idea how they get it the way they do but one day i’m gonna have to sneak into the kitchen and do a little spying to figure out this mystery. in any case, i would definitely recommend this recipe, it’s easy, straight forward, and if you have a hankering for pretzels this recipe whips up fairly quick for you to get your fix.

next time i have a pretzel craving i’m gonna make these with a crumbled bacon topping!

1. using a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top. allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
2. when yeast mixture foams, add flour and butter, 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.
3. return dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set it aside for 50 to 55 minutes. the dough will double in size.
4. preheat your oven to 450. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil. set aside.
5. bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil.
6. in the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 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.
7. place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds.
8. remove them from water using a spatula. return to baking sheet.
9. brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt.
10. bake until dark golden brown in color, about 12 to 14 minutes. transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

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