There are, by my count, at least seven levels of fried chicken. The worst of them is good; the best, which I waited forty-four years to find, led to what can only be called an out-of-body experience. Let’s start at …
How to Bake Pretzels
New York City is known for its sidewalk pretzel vendors, but the U.S. origin of the handheld snack is actually Pennsylvania. Legend has it that in the 1850s a hobo gave the recipe for soft pretzels to a bread baker in Lititz, Pennsylvania, to thank him for his kindness. The baker passed the recipe along to his apprentice who later opened the first pretzel bakery in America. Baked pretzels follow a simple recipe that consists of just a few ingredients. In a few hours, you can have soft, fresh pretzels at home without having to travel to a baseball game, mall or New York City. Add this to my Recipe Box.
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Things You'll Need
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1, 4-oz. package active dry yeast
- 1.5 cups lukewarm water
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
- Pretzel or sea salt
- Glass measuring cup
- Bowl
- Whisk
- Wooden spoon
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Olive oil
- Plastic wrap
- 6-quart pot
- Tongs
Instructions
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1
Combine 1 tbsp. of sugar with a 4-oz. packet of active dry yeast and 1.5 cups of lukewarm water -- 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit -- in a glass measuring cup. Let the mixture sit until it becomes foamy, about five minutes. If the mixture does not produce a foam, start over with a new yeast packet.
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2
Whisk together 4 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tbsp. of salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until it becomes a dough. Metal spoons have the ability to react negatively with the yeast.
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3
Lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough onto it. Knead the dough for eight to 10 minutes until it is smooth. You can also use a stand mixer with a dough hook to do the kneading.
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4
Place the dough back in the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour. The dough should rise and double in size.
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5
Take the dough out of the bowl and divide into eight equal pieces to make eight pretzels. Roll each piece of dough back and forth to make a 24-inch long rope.
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6
Create a "U" shape with the dough rope. Hold one end of the rope in each hand and cross them over each other. Press each end into the bottom of the "U" shape at the 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions. Transfer the twisted pretzels to an oiled baking sheet and let them rest for 20 minutes. Leave 1.5 inches between each pretzel.
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7
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, fill a 6-quart pot with water and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the pretzels, one at a time, in the pot. Boil each pretzel for three minutes, turning each over once with tongs.
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8
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly oil the paper and place the boiled pretzels on it. Gently beat one egg yolk. Brush the pretzels with the egg yolk, and wash and sprinkle them with pretzel or sea salt. Bake them for 35 minutes. Let the pretzels cool for 15 minutes before serving.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit tasty pretzels image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
