Glutton Style Homemade Pretzels Recipe
There was a time when I made pretzels on a regular basis, but for some reason I haven’t made them in ages. But since we’re in the midst of Oktoberfest I thought it appropriate to get into the kitchen, fire up the mixer, and experiment with one of my favorite Bavarian treats. Liz and I were set one creating a traditional pretzel and our first batch based on a recipe from one of my Bavarian Recipe books was a disaster (imagine pretzels that tasted like crackers…yes that bad).
Fueled by anger and hunger, we went back into the kitchen, wrote another recipe, and came up with pretzels that are slightly moist with a perfect texture. One unique aspect of this recipe is that we added barley malt syrup to the baking soda bath the pretzels receive prior to baking which gives the crust subtle sweet notes that are of course balanced with the salt topping. I’d love to say that we showed restraint, but these pretzels were so tasty that all were gone in less than 24 hours.
Enjoy!
The Necessities:
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 packet yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp barley malt syrup
- Coarse salt
Directions:
- Combine the yeast and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the flour, sugar, and kosher salt.
- Fire up the mixer on low. When loose flour is no longer present, add the melted butter and continue to mix on low for another 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the mixer, form it into a ball, and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size (this should take around 2 hours or so).
- When the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
- On a silicon pad (or whatever is handy), divide the dough into 10 separate pieces.
- Using your hands roll each piece of the dough so it forms a long rope with a thicker center.
- Form the desired pretzel shape (we also made a few pretzel rolls).
- Place the pretzels on a baking sheet with a silicon pad or parchment paper on it, cover and allow the pretzels to rise for 15-20 minutes.
- While the pretzels are rising bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the baking soda and barley malt syrup. Stir and reduce heat to low.
- One at a time, carefully drop the pretzels into the baking soda/barley malt syrup solution for about 5 seconds. Using a spatula gently remove and return each pretzel to the baking sheet. Immediately top with a light dusting of coarse salt.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook the pretzels for 10 minutes or until golden in color.
- Allow the pretzels to cool on a rack for a few minutes and then enjoy!
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I have never made pretzels, in fact i am not sure i have even eaten those big ones, I will have to try them.. c
Really? Well, then you’ve got something on to add to your to-do list.
Great recipes, these look delicious! I’ve been wanting to make homemade pretzels for a while. I need to get on that.
It so funny, now that I have made them for the first time in so many years I want to make another batch right now!
Stumbled here from ChgoJohn’s blog from the fromthebartolinikitchens.com. These pretzels look amazing; they were likely chewy and salty like pretzels are supposed to be! I wonder what the baking soda does in the water.
Thanks for checking out my blog and the comment. The baking soda is a cheap/simple recreation of the Lauge (sodium hydroxide) solution used when making Bavarian pretzels (it’s what gives the pretzels their distinctive taste).
Those look awesome. We have to take food into work sometimes, I don’t think these would’ve lasted long enough!
Many thanks!
wow, many years ago I made pretzels and remember how great they tasted…and how much work! Like my bagel making day! I’m so impressed that you made these; they are perfect for game watching. You just may have inspired me to give this a try again!!
Give am a try! You won’t regret it.
Absolutely stunning looking pretzels…love the addition of barley malt syrup…beautiful…
-Shilpa
Thank you so much. It was one of those pleasant surprises that is turned out so tasty.
Oh, boy, I need to make these soon…my youngest has been asking me to make pretzels for months. You’ve mastered these!
We got lucky for sure and let me know if your fam approves.
Never made pretzels but love eating them…especially pretzel dogs. I will definitely be making these and will most certainly wrap some dough around a hot dog or two. Yet another great recipe added to my long Sports Glutton recipe “to-make” list.
Thanks LaTonya! Congrats on your Cowboys victory.
These look great! Love the little pretzel rolls
Great for pairing up with a beer and a game!
I’m storing this recipe away. I don’t know when or how but they are going to come in handy sometime this Fall or Winter. Thanks.
My pleasure and I hope you enjoy them.
Yum! I love homemade pretzels. Those look so good.
Wow thats perfectly made, looks like the ones I see in bakeries. Good job, in fact very good job!
Those look fantastic!
I have never made a pretzel before..always been tempted to
now I have a great recipe to try soon
I love pretzels but haven´t eaten ones like these for years. No excuse now not to!
I will try to make them too!
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