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When I lived in Philadelphia for college, I often ate Philly Soft Pretzel because they were 1) filling and 2) cheap. I was having a moment of nostalgia and decided to make some soft pretzels at home. I mixed and mashed two recipes and created my own for a small batch. Click continue for the full recipe.
Serves- 3 dozen bites Cook time- 2 hours
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup of lukewarm water
1 pkg of active yeast
1.5 tablespoons of softened butter
course salt for topping
1 egg for egg wash
1.5 melted butter
Baking Soda Bath
3/4 cup of baking soda
5 cups of water
1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water in a mixing bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and softened butter.
3. Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and knead into a nice ball of dough. I did this with my Kitchen-aid mixer for 4 minutes on setting #2 and then 3 minutes on setting #3. Add water a teaspoon at a time if the dough seems too dry.
4. Next, let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minute.
5. After the dough is fully rested, divide it into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into logs that are about 1 inch wide and cut into 1 inch pieces.
6. Place the cut pretzel bites on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Boil 5 cups of water and add baking soda to the boiling water. Add the pretzel bites to the boiling water and let them soak for 20 seconds. Place the soaked pretzels back to the baking sheet.
8. Preheat the oven at 400 F. Brush the pretzels with an egg wash. Sprinkle some sea salt or pretzel salt on them and bake for 10-14 minutes. I baked my pretzels for 12 minutes because I like them to be extra soft- if you like them to be a bit crunchy, bake them longer.
9. Once they are out of the oven brush them with some melted butter and serve. Enjoy!
