Recipe: Soft Pretzels (Alton Brown)

I had a friend over to watch a movie tonight and thought I would make some soft pretzels to dip in mustard and cheese.

Alton Brown's recipe at Food Network is probably the easiest to follow, and yields some amazing pretzels.

So, you'll need some yeast, water, sugar, flour, salt and butter to get started.



Combine 1 1/2 cups warm water, 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle one package of active dry yeast over the top.



Let stand for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture foams. Call me weird, but nothing beats the smell of making any kind of bread product.



Next, add in 4 1/2 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour and 2 oz. of melted butter. Use the dough hook attachment on low until all ingredients are combined. Increase speed to medium, until dough is smooth, about 4-5 minutes.



Coat the inside of another bowl with vegetable oil.



And turn mixed dough into oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about an hour, until doubled in size.



At the end of your hour, preheat oven to 450. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and brushing oil over the paper. Bring 10 cups of water and 2/3 cup baking soda to a boil.



Turn the dough onto an oiled surface (I put down waxed paper and oiled that to reduce mess).



Divide the dough into 8. Or 9. Or 10 pieces. This is not an exact science.



And then go ahead and roll and fold them into pretzel shapes. Or whatever shape you have in mind. I am a BAD pretzel maker. BAD. So I make pretzel rings. Sometimes, they separate at the ends and I have pretzel horseshoes. I'll get over it.

Put the pretzels in the boiling water, one at a time, for 30 seconds.



Removed and place on prepared baking sheet (4 or 5 per sheet will do).



If you would like, you can brush with some beaten egg and sprinkle with salt, but I don't.

Bake for 10-12 minutes to get the look pictured below. I usually bake 8 minutes, because I like them underdone.



Dip in mustard, honey mustard or cheese... You can even just eat plain as a snack!