Bavarian Pretzels

This is my FAVORITE pretzel recipe! It's incredibly simple to make and has very few ingredients. The pretzels have a delicious bready flavor that's perfectly complemented by coarse sea salt (and a cold beer). My cousin Brandon found this recipe online and I made it a few times and tweaked it for the better I think.

combine:

1 package active dry yeast (2 tsp)

2 tbsp warm water

a little pinch of sugar

The goal here is to breed the yeast. Warm but NOT HOT water helps it breed and the sugar is a food source. Hot water will kill the yeast. Stir together and let sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.

Then add:

4 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 1/3 cups water (preferably room temperature or a little warmer, again to promote yeast growth)

Mix together and then knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Knead with your hands! Do not just stir or the dough will stay sticky. It needs to be kneaded thoroughly to achieve the smooth pretzzely texture of goodness.

Heat oven to 475 degrees. Measure enough water into a pan to be 3 inches deep.  Add 2 tsp of baking soda for every 4 cups of water. Simmer soda and water mixture while shaping the dough and make sure that the soda is completely dissolved.

Yes, pretzels are usually pretzel shaped, but I find they look much nicer and cook more evenly when formed into a bagel shape. So begin to form the dough into whatever shape you please by taking a piece and rolling it into a string. I generally do about a 6 inch long and 3/4 inch thick string, but most any size will do as long as they're all the same size.

 Lay pretzels out on a lightly floured surface to rise for a few minutes. Bring soda water mixture to a boil and put as many pretzels in as will fit comfortably. This is what gives the pretzels their harder outer coating. The pretzel will sink at first and after a while will begin floating - this means its time to take out! Poke a pretzel if it's been at the bottom too long as it might be stuck.

Place pretzels on a GREASED baking sheet and salt the tops. If you like very salty pretzels, place them on a greased and salted baking sheet. For best results use coarsely ground sea salt and it'll be just like professional pretzels.

Bake until the pretzels are golden brown. A light golden brown if you like them chewy and a darker color if you don't. This is usually between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on how thick the pretzels are. 

This dough would also make a delicious pizza crust, or pizza bagels. Also, it can be spiced up with things like ground herbs or garlic salt.