My sourdough comfortable pretzels are made with lively, bubbly sourdough starter and dunked in a lye tub for a traditional, old style taste (with notes on use baking soda as a substitute in case you’re not comfy with lye!). They’re comfortable, chewy, and surprisingly easy to make! Recipe features a how-to video tutorial!
Completely Unbelievable Sourdough Pretzels
At first look, these sourdough comfortable pretzels might look like an intimidating endeavor, however can I take a second to guarantee you that they’re really fairly easy and hands-off?
As is the case with most sourdough recipes, the dough does take its candy time rising and fermenting. Be ready to make the dough at some point, after which roll, dip, and bake the following. You positively want persistence, however the precise effort required is comparatively low and the wait is price it.
Sourdough comfortable pretzels style miles higher than something you’ll discover on the mall. They’ve a beautiful golden brown coloring and delicate, sourdough-y depth of taste. This recipe and my sourdough pizza crust are two of my all-time favourite methods to make use of my sourdough starter, you probably have a jar sitting round all lively and bubbly, this can be a nice solution to put it to work!
Issues to learn about this recipe
- Genuine, conventional pretzel taste and look, because of old style approach and a lye tub. Word that lye have to be dealt with correctly. It’s protected in case you take the correct precautions, however it’s not one thing to let the youngsters deal with. For those who’re not comfy with it, I do provide an alternate within the recipe card.
- These are true sourdough pretzels, not sourdough discard pretzels. I choose utilizing the pure yeast from sourdough (identical to when making sourdough bread or my sourdough dinner rolls) somewhat than utilizing discard and supplementing with yeast.
- It takes a little bit of advance planning. The dough will rise at room temperature for at the very least 5 hours, after which might want to ferment within the fridge in a single day. I like to recommend beginning the dough within the morning or early afternoon.
- It’s versatile. Make comfortable pretzel bites as a substitute by reducing the dough ropes into bite-sized items as a substitute of twisting. Season them classically with pretzel salt, or make a candy cinnamon sugar model by brushing the baked pretzels with melted butter and sprinkling with cinnamon sugar.
What You Want
- Bread flour. Utilizing bread flour provides our sourdough comfortable pretzels a softer, chewier texture than all-purpose flour would yield. It’s a key ingredient right here and in my artisan bread recipe. You can substitute all-purpose flour if it’s all you might have, the pretzels simply gained’t be as chewy.
- Sourdough starter. It’s essential to use lively sourdough starter for this recipe–don’t use sourdough discard. You probably have sourdough discard you wish to use, attempt my sourdough chocolate chip cookies or sourdough crackers.
- Honey. A contact of honey feeds the yeast within the sourdough starter and provides taste with out making the pretzels too candy. Alternatively use gentle brown sugar.
- Butter. This helps to counterpoint the dough and provides the pretzels the correct taste.
- Lye. Whereas typically used to make soaps and when cleansing, lye additionally has a standard place in pretzel-making; it gives that golden brown shade and traditional pretzel style. We’ll fastidiously dunk our sourdough comfortable pretzels in a lye tub earlier than baking them to golden perfection. A notice of warning: you have to be VERY cautious when working with lye. Please learn this put up and the recipe completely earlier than starting! For those who’re not comfy utilizing lye, I additionally embody directions to dip the pretzels in a baking soda tub as a substitute.
- Pretzel salt. This can be a coarse salt that could be a traditional comfortable pretzel topping. I hyperlink to the one I exploit beneath, however you may additionally use a rough kosher and even sea salt. Or, change issues up and use the whole lot bagel seasoning!
SAM’S TIP: If consuming lye-coated pretzels scares you, don’t fear; baking the lye neutralizes it and makes it protected to eat. Or you possibly can at all times use baking soda instead–hold studying for directions on this.
Keep in mind, that is simply an summary of the components I used and why. For the complete recipe please scroll right down to the underside of the put up!
How one can Make Sourdough Smooth Pretzels
Make the pretzel dough
- Combine collectively the moist components, salt, and half of the flour till mixed.
- Add extra flour as wanted: use dough hook and blend on low velocity whereas regularly including extra flour. You might not want all the flour, or you might want extra. Search for visible/tactile cues to know that your dough is prepared; it can start to stay to itself and draw back from the bowl, and in case you poke it with the pad of your finger it mustn’t persist with your finger.
- Knead the dough with the dough hook till it’s clean and elastic. This normally takes about 5-10 minutes for me. I don’t actually advocate kneading this dough by hand; it’s simply approach too comfortable by design and you would need to add an excessive amount of flour to virtually have the ability to deal with it.
- Place in a flippantly oiled bowl, cowl and let rise in a heat spot till nearly doubled in dimension. How lengthy this takes will range, however for me it’s normally between 5 and seven hours.
Form the pretzels
- As soon as the dough has risen, place it within the fridge and let sit in a single day.
- Divide the chilled dough into 10 equal items.
- Roll every bit into a protracted rope.
- Kind right into a “U” form and cross the ends over one another as soon as.
- Twist the ends over one another once more.
- Flip the ends down and press into the underside of the “U”.
Don’t really feel unhealthy in case your pretzels aren’t the prettiest form, it took me a very long time to even get this far with mine and irrespective of how they give the impression of being, they’ll style superb!
SAM’S TIP: This dough is comfortable and it have to be chilly to be manageable, so that you’ll use it proper out of the fridge. If it will get too heat, merely pop it again within the fridge till you possibly can deal with it once more.
Lye Bathtub & Bake
- Rigorously put together the lye tub and line your baking sheets with parchment. I speak about safely do that within the part beneath, please learn via that earlier than starting.
- Dip the pretzels within the lye tub for 30 seconds.
- Drain off any extra lye/water and place in your ready baking sheets.
- Sprinkle with salt and bake till deep golden brown, turning midway via. The warmth of the oven will neutralize the water from the lye tub, making the pretzels protected to eat.
How one can Safely Use Lye
Whereas lye is protected to make use of as directed on this recipe, it’s nonetheless a chemical that must be dealt with correctly. Lye could be dangerous if it touches your pores and skin, in case you eat it straight from the bottle, or in case you breathe it in. Consequently, when working with lye, you have to do the next:
- Put on security gear. This contains gloves and eye goggles, and lengthy sleeves aren’t a nasty thought both. You don’t need the lye to the touch your pores and skin or actually something besides your pretzels!
- Use ample air flow. I wish to hold my kitchen vent fan on and open my home windows if I can.
- At all times add the lye to your water, and never the water to the lye. This may trigger splashes, which we wish to keep away from since lye can smash surfaces in your kitchen (wooden, metallic, granite, and so on.).
- Get rid of the lye correctly. You’ll want to neutralize the lye water with some vinegar first, then fastidiously and slowly pour it down your sink drain with some chilly water. I describe this intimately within the recipe notes beneath.
For extra detailed security info, King Arthur flour has an in depth information on working with lye safely.
If working with lye looks like an excessive amount of of a trouble to you otherwise you’re merely not comfy with it, you possibly can at all times use a baking soda tub as a substitute. The pretzels gained’t be fairly as fairly (see beneath), however I do that with my selfmade comfortable pretzels and comfortable pretzel bites, and so they nonetheless style superb! I present directions on how to do that within the recipe card.
Continuously Requested Questions
Lye is a standard ingredient when making comfortable pretzels, because it provides the pretzels that traditional golden brown shade and pretzel taste. When dealt with correctly, it’s protected to make use of and properly price the additional precautions! Nevertheless, don’t do something you’re uncomfortable with! I embody directions for utilizing baking soda as a substitute within the recipe card.
Sure! These sourdough comfortable pretzels could be tightly wrapped and frozen in an hermetic container. To thaw, you possibly can merely microwave them till comfortable and heat or reheat them within the oven.
You can too make these into any form you’d like: simply reduce them into small items to make sourdough comfortable pretzel bites as a substitute (see above!).
Take pleasure in!
Let’s bake collectively! Subscribe to my publication to be notified of all the latest recipes, and discover my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Sourdough Smooth Pretzels
Servings: 10 pretzels
Energy: 203kcal
Forestall your display from going darkish
Directions
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BEFORE BEGINNING: Word that this dough requires 5-7 hours of resting at room temperature adopted by a 12+ hour in a single day fermentation within the fridge. I like to recommend making ready the dough within the morning or early afternoon after which baking the pretzels the following day.
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer (see notice), mix sourdough starter, water, honey, butter, salt, and roughly half of the flour and stir till well-combined.
⅔ cup (150 g) lively, bubbly sourdough starter, ⅔ cup (160 ml) heat water, 3 Tablespoons (63 g) honey, 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon desk salt, 2 ½ cups (312 g) bread flour
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Connect the dough hook attachment to the mixer and start to stir on low-speed. Add remaining flour as wanted till the dough begins to cling to itself and draw back from the edges of the bowl (dough will nonetheless be fairly sticky, however shouldn’t persist with your finger in case you contact it).
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Proceed to knead dough with dough hook (medium/low velocity) till clean and elastic (normally 5-10 minutes longer).
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Switch dough to a flippantly oiled bowl, cowl the bowl with plastic wrap, and permit to rise in a heat, draft-free place till practically doubled in dimension (normally 5-7 hours).
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Switch to fridge and permit to relaxation for 12-18 hours (I let mine sit in a single day) earlier than continuing.
The subsequent day
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Preheat oven to 400F (205C) and line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Put aside and put together the lye tub (alternatively, see notice for utilizing a baking soda tub as a substitute).
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It is very important deal with lye safely. Work in a properly ventilated space and put on rubber gloves and eye goggles. Don’t contact the lye or the lye/water answer and beware that if it splashes it might smash surfaces. See notes for extra info together with directions for disposing of the lye.
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Arrange your lye tub (see notice if utilizing baking soda as a substitute of lye): Place a large, deep glass dish (I exploit a 2.75qt glass casserole dish or comparable) on considered one of your parchment paper lined baking sheets. Pour water into the dish after which fastidiously add lye and use a stainless-steel spoon to stir till lye is dissolved. Put aside whilst you put together your pretzels.
8 cups (1.9 L) water, ¼ cup (55 g) lye
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Take away pretzel dough from the fridge and divide into 10 equal items (deal with the dough instantly, don’t let it sit or it can get too comfortable to make use of). Roll every into a protracted skinny rope, about 20-24” (50-60cm) lengthy, and twist right into a pretzel form (for help with shaping correctly, see the how-to part within the put up or watch the video tutorial).
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Use a slotted spatula to decrease every pretzel, separately, into the lye tub for 30 seconds, then fastidiously take away. Drain as a lot water as you possibly can from every pretzel (the wetter they’re the extra probably they’re to stay to the parchment paper and also you’ll must peel them off) then place on ready baking sheet, spacing pretzels at the very least 2” aside (I do 5 pretzels per baking sheet).
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Sprinkle with pretzel salt.
Pretzel salt
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Switch to middle rack of 400F (205C) oven and bake pans 1 at a time for 12 minutes per pan, rotating the pan midway via and baking till deep golden brown.
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Take away from oven and funky barely earlier than serving. In the event that they’ve caught to the parchment, merely peel them off.
Notes
Stand mixer
A stand mixer is extremely really helpful. This dough is and needs to be very comfortable and considerably sticky. Utilizing a stand mixer permits us to maintain the dough comfortable whereas nonetheless kneading it sufficiently. For those who had been to knead the dough by hand, you would need to add fairly a bit extra flour than is right with a purpose to even have the ability to handle it, which might lead to harder pretzels.
Lye
That is the lye that I exploit. Deal with lye with care. Work in a well-ventilated house. Rubber gloves and security glasses are really helpful, in addition to lengthy sleeves and lengthy pants to reduce threat of splashes. That is the lye that I exploit. Word that in case you are uncomfortable with dealing with lye you need to use a baking soda tub and egg wash as a substitute and the outcomes are nonetheless wonderful, the pretzels simply aren’t as golden brown and fairly.
Disposing of lye
To get rid of the lye water, you possibly can neutralize the answer by including 2 ½ cups of vinegar to the combination after which (fastidiously, to keep away from splashing) pour it down the sink drain whereas operating cool water on the identical time.
Baking soda tub
As a substitute of a lye tub, you are able to do a baking soda tub as a substitute, however your pretzels is not going to be as brown or style fairly as conventional (they’re nonetheless scrumptious although!). To do that, carry 8 cups water and ¼ cup (66g) baking soda in a big pot. Gently decrease pretzels (only one or 2 at a time) into the boiling combination and boil for 30 seconds per aspect then use a frying spider to take away and drain and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Put together an egg wash (elective, however helps darken the pretzels) by whisking an egg with a Tablespoon of water, gently brush every pretzel with the combination, sprinkle with pretzel salt, then bake as indicated.
Cinnamon sugar variation
Skip the pretzel salt and bake the pretzels plain. Whereas pretzels are nonetheless heat, brush every one with melted salted butter (you’ll want about ¼ cup/57g), then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or dip in cinnamon sugar.
Storing
Retailer in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 3 days (the salt might dissolve as they sit) or tightly wrap and freeze for a number of months. To reheat from frozen, preheat your oven to 325F (165C) place on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush flippantly with water or melted butter, and warmth till warmed via (this can simply take a couple of minutes).
Vitamin
Serving: 1pretzel | Energy: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 10g | Fats: 4g | Saturated Fats: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fats: 1g | Trans Fats: 0.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 1073mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 71IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg
Dietary info is predicated on third-party calculations and needs to be thought-about an estimate solely. Precise dietary content material will range primarily based upon manufacturers used, measuring strategies, cooking technique, portion sizes, and extra.
