My mother loves to bake. I am not the biggest fan of baking. I can bake, but sometimes it is a bit much for me. When I get wind of a recipe that is made with simple ingredients and simple instructions, I am all in! My mom shared this recipe with me for homemade pretzels. I made them with the boys, and it was a hit! They were so delicious!! I actually ate so many that the kids were mad at me because they wanted more. Good thing it is simple enough to make more. The best part was that I had all of the ingredients already in my kitchen. Let’s dive in.
For ingredients you will need:
1 Packet of Yeast
4 Cups of Flour
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Tsp. Salt
We did use a stand-up mixer with a dough hook to make these. I have made them without the mixer and just kneaded the dough with my hands. Either way works just fine, it is just faster with a mixer.
In your mixing bowl you will start with one packet of yeast (2 Tsp.) into 1 1/2 Cups of warm water. Mix those two together really well. I mix them for at least 1 minute.
Next add in 1/3 Cup of brown sugar and mix that together until it is pretty smooth. Then you can add in the 1/4 Tsp. of salt. Blend all of these together until you get a fairly smooth texture.
You are ready to add the flour. If you are using a mixer add each cup slowly while the mixer is going. If you are hand kneading, also add it in slowly as you take time to knead it together. After you have added all of the flour you should have a nice-looking dough ball. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let is set for 5-10 minutes.
While the dough is setting you can turn your oven to 375 degrees. Then in another bowl mix up 1/2 cup of water with 1 Tablespoons of baking soda. Use warm water to ensure that the baking soda dissolves.
Once the dough has set you may begin rolling it out. This is the fun part. I split up the dough between each boy and let them make their own pretzels. They can make bites or pretzel shapes. They can get as creative as they want. My youngest makes little people sometimes. After you’ve cut out all of your pretzels you will want to dip them into the baking soda solution. Laying them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper after. When all of the pretzels have been dipped and are onto the baking sheet lightly dust them with kosher salt. Now they are ready to bake! Place them into the oven for Around 10-12 minutes. When they are lightly golden brown on top, they are done!!
Let them cool and then dig in!!! You can make up a cheese dip to enjoy with them if you’d like. Honestly, they are so sweet and yummy that you don’t really need anything with them at all. I think they would make awesome rolls as well. I am going to experiment with making pretzel buns and roll with this recipe. They are just so so good! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Happy baking!
-Nicole