PRETZELS or brezel are an ancient bread, famous in all Francophone countries because they date back centuries, and it is said they were created by a monk who, giving this shape to the bread, wanted to recall the gesture of folded arms in prayer. Returning to more earthly matters, I decided to make pretzels to make my little ones happy who have been asking me for them for a long time, and taking advantage of a relaxing afternoon, we tried to make them. Actually, I got the recipe from the Giallozafferano site (here the recipe) and I must say they are easy and quite quick to make, a fun recipe to do even with kids who will enjoy twisting the dough and decorating them. Now follow me to the kitchen, I’ll explain how to prepare pretzels!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 5
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 246.98 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 49.24 (g) of which sugars 1.19 (g)
- Proteins 8.06 (g)
- Fat 3.04 (g) of which saturated 1.65 (g)of which unsaturated 0.92 (g)
- Fibers 1.78 (g)
- Sodium 2,694.49 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 5 pretzels
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp fresh yeast (or 1/2 tsp dry yeast)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- to taste coarse salt
- 1 1/4 oz baking soda
Tools
- 1 Baking Sheet
Steps to Prepare Pretzels
As you can read, preparing pretzels is very quick: in the stand mixer bowl, put the flour and butter and start kneading with the paddle attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can easily knead by hand following this procedure explained in the recipe.
Weigh the water, dissolve the yeast in it and add to the flour and butter mixture, thus obtaining a ball that we will knead for about 2/3 minutes, then add the salt and increase the speed for about 3 minutes, until obtaining a smooth and soft dough but not sticky.
Now transfer the dough onto the work surface and divide it into 5 pieces. Take each piece and work it until obtaining a rope about 20 inches long, then bring the ends down and cross them, fixing the ends under the top part of the pretzel. For convenience, I attach the step-by-step photos hoping it’s clear, if not, feel free to write to me :).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and flour the surface, now place the pretzels and let them rest covered for about 30 minutes. After the half-hour rest, transfer everything to the fridge and let them rest for another hour.
Take a pot, fill it with about 2 quarts of water and add the baking soda, as soon as the water boils, dip one pretzel at a time and let it boil for about 30 seconds, then drain them well and transfer them onto another baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Slightly score the top to create the characteristic split, then sprinkle with coarse salt and bake at 392°F in a static oven for about 20 minutes.
Here our pretzels are ready to be enjoyed in all their goodness!
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FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Most frequently asked questions
Why the water and baking soda bath?
It gives the pretzels their characteristic shiny appearance on the surface.
What if I don’t have a stand mixer?
You can easily follow the same procedure indicated, it will just take a few more minutes, but the result will be identical!
How do I store my pretzels?
In a well-sealed container for a maximum of two days.
How can I serve them?
Sausages, sauerkraut, cold cuts, and cheeses, you can get creative as you like, the important thing is always to accompany them with a high-quality beer!
