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Homemade Soft Pretzels


Judging by the yummy pretzel places in the malls now I thought that soft pretzels were kind of a new thing, until I found out there is a recipe in the Old Mennonite Treasury. Under Mennonite Dishes, page 11, Mrs Neustaedter posted a recipe called Kringel. reading her instructions, sounds like she may be making bagels, but the recipe also sounds a lot like the soft pretzel recipes I looked up on line. I divided her recipe in half and mixed it up in my kitchen machine with a dough attachment. A kitchen aid would be good. The other thing I changed, the second time I made them, was to add baking soda to the boiling water process. I'm not sure if it made a big difference, but I thought I'd try it since I did not have alum (which her recipe calls for) and I noticed that to be a natural ingredient in other  similar recipes. The ones pictured on the right have a sprinkling of coarse sugar and cinnamon.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 Tbsp instant yeast
  • water, sugar and soda for boiling
  • sesame seeds and/or coarse sugar and cinnamon for topping. If using coarse salt, go easy. 
Method:
  1. Melt butter and add milk to heat. Add water to make combined liquids warm, not hot.
  2. In mixing bowl, beat eggs and slowly add warm liquids. 
  3. Add salt, sugar, some of the flour combined with yeast and then the rest of the flour.
  4. Knead about 5 minutes until smooth.
  5. Cover and let rise about 45 - 50 minutes.
  6. Divide in half and then each half into ten segments. 
  7. Roll segments into 15 inch ropes. Doing the rolling works best on non floured surface. I dampened my mat by wiping it with a wet cloth.
  8. Take each rope and shape it into a fancy figure six.
  9. Take the top down to cross, then twist crossed segments. 
  10. Put on parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise about 15 minutes.
  11. During this time heat about 5 cups water with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup baking soda. Bring to boil.
  12. With slotted spoon dip each pretzel into the boiling water, one or two at a time and boil 45- 60 seconds on each side. Return to baking sheet. Sprinkle with desired topping.
  13. Bake in preheated 450 F oven for 5 - 10 minutes until golden. Enjoy warm.


PS Another great way is to bake them plain and drizzle them with a cinnamon icing glaze. (blend icing sugar, milk and cinnamon) Can be frozen plain, reheated and iced.

11 comments:

  1. These really look good Anneliese. I'm not really a pretzel fan but I think these would be very nice.

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  2. very good Anneliese,,,like that you mentioned used of kitchen aid.. now that 5 mins kneaded is done by machine on what speed,,,

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    Replies
    1. Shirley, with the kitchen aid I would start on a low speed until all the flour is incorporated and then switch it up to a medium speed until it feels smooth and elastic like.

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    2. thanks Anneliese,,:)

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  3. When I use a recipe for the first time, I find it important to have the stated or approximate amount of the finished product. Can somebody tell me how many pretzels this recipe will make??

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    Replies
    1. It depends on how large you make them. I divide the dough in half and cut each half into ten segments . . . like in the photo ... so I get twenty medium sized pretzels.

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  4. Where do you find instant yeast?

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    Replies
    1. Instant yeast is in the same place as traditional yeast. It is just a finer granule and is quicker acting (does not need separate proofing on the side) I have actually been buying regular Costco yeast and get away with using it like instant because it's so fine. If I think about it, I let the soft/runny dough just rest with the yeast for about 5 minutes (in the mixing bow) before adding the rest of the flour to finish it.

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  5. Anneliese - your tutorials are so well done! These look like such fun to make and sound delicious.

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  6. My landlord just gave me an oven and I aim to try these today!
    Rebecca Loudon

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  7. I tried these today and they came out so beautifully. They are both lovely to look at and wonderful to eat. Thank you for the recipe. Two things I'll do differently next time. First is that I'll keep a damp cloth over the dough pieces while I'm rolling another piece into a rope and forming the pretzel. The rolling took time and the dough pieces started to dry out. Second, I found that the water started to foam while I boiled the pretzels. To make sure the pot doesn't foam over, I'll keep a pot and small ladle close to skim off the foam as they boil. I sprinkled the sesame seeds over top while they were still damp and the seeds seemed to stick better. Thanks again.

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