Reader Recipe: Philly Style Soft Pretzels

Posted by on 27 February 2012 in Be Inspired, Featured Posts, In The Kitchen | 2 comments

Reader Recipe: Philly Style Soft Pretzels

Lets face it, we are in the middle of winter and the kids are going bonkers being confined indoors. Daily, my two boys flip over the house into forts, race tracks, and Nerf war zones. There are days I find myself embracing the chaos, and other days if find myself lost in the madness. One of the days I was lost in the insanity of motherhood, we ran into a Philadelphia Soft Pretzel guy selling wonderful, warm, savory pretzels. Then it hit me: “we can make these!” Soft pretzels are the perfect combination of baking and playing. So, a few weeks ago, my boys and I set out to test recipes to find the most kid friendly, easy, and yummy pretzels. This recipe is our combination of a family recipe and some hints from online. We had so much fun, we even did it with my oldest son’s entire preschool class!

Wake up your yeast in warm water as you mix your dry ingredients.

Let your dough double in size in a warm happy place.

Divide your risen dough into 12 equal parts.

Create your own unique pretzel.

Time for a dip in the baking soda pool.

Last step: egg’em and salt’em.

Ingredients:
4tsp active dry yeast

1tsp white sugar

1tsp salt

1 1/4 c warm water (110 degrees)

5 c flour

1/2 c white sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs oil

1/2 cup baking soda

4 c hot water

1 egg

coarse salt

step 1: preheat oven to 450 degrees. warm 1 1/4 cup water to 110 degrees, add 4 teaspoons of active dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar and one tsp salt- let stand for ten minuets till foamy.

step 2: with the kneading attachment on an electric mixer, combine 5 cups flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt – mix.

step 3: add foamy warm yeast mixture to mixing bowl, along with 1tbs oil- combine on low till ball forms (if dry and loose add 1tbs water at a time till dough ball forms).

step 4: oil a large bowl, place dough ball in bottom, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot (a oven that is just warm, a sunny draft-less window sill or on top of a radiator) for an hour.

step 5: once dough has risen, turn dough onto floured surface and divided into 12 equal parts and roll into your favorite pretzel shape (traditional: just make a U, twist ends and bring ends to bottom of U).

step 6: dip pretzel into warm baking soda mixture, 1/2 cup baking soda and 4 cups warm water, then place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

step 7: after baking sheet is full, (pretzels rise a little so leave some room to grow on the sheet) brush pretzels well with a beaten egg- one egg will suffice for a batch. Once pretzel is completely coated, sprinkle with coarse salt.

step 8: bake 8 min, or until toasty and golden.

step 9: cheers!

written by: monica ayers -philadelplhia, pa

2 Comments

  1. Rachel February 28, 2012

    Thanks for the heads up!

  2. CPH February 28, 2012

    I made these today, and they were amazing, but just wanted to point some things out. In step 2 you mention adding 1/2 c. sugar twice, I assumed it was only once. Also, your ingredients lists 1 tsp of sugar while the written instructions say 1 tbs (I went with tsp). I also didn’t see a oven temperature, I looked up a similar recipe and went with 450. Again, they taste amazing, just may want to update your recipe as it’s floating around Pinterest. :)

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