2020 – my rediscovery of instant yeast, the epiphany (a.k.a. desperate improvisation) of combining it with soy milk, and the awakening of a carnal appetite for soft nutty breads.
and not just soft, I mean suuuuuuuper soft. better than the mall pretzels I was addicted to for most of 2019.
moral of the story – homemade pretzels >> mall pretzels
makes 3 pretzels
- 1/2 cup soy milk, warmed in microwave 30 s
- 1-1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 1-1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 3/4 cup AP flour
- 1/2 cup bread flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp baking soda mixed into boiling water
- 1 egg, beaten
- Combine milk, yeast, sugar, butter in a bowl. Add in flours until a dough forms.
- Knead on a floured surface and shape into a ball. Let it rise in a lightly-oiled bowl covered with a towel, for 1 h.
- Preheat oven to 400F and prepare baking soda solution.
- Punch dough and divide into 3. Roll out and twist into a pretzel shape (or cut to get pretzel bites).
- Dip each one into baking soda solution before placing on the baking sheet. Brush each pretzel with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. (If making sweet pretzels, skip the salt.)
- Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with cheese sauce! Or, if you’re like me, melted butter. (If making sweet pretzels, brush with melted butter and toss a mix of 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tbsp cinnamon over them.)
photo by spoonful of butter of folding a pretzel
Recipe adapted from these easy homemade pretzels on Spoonful of Butter.
