I figured that soft pretzel dough had to be pretty similar to bagel dough, right? So I decided to try Bavarian-style soft pretzels, risen with sourdough.
Not bad! The outside wasn't quite as glossy and chewy as I would like a soft pretzel to be, but the interior was the right texture and the flavor was lovely. Could be the difference between a lye bath and a baking soda bath, or maybe because my starter was whole wheat instead of high-protein white flour as a pretzel ought to be.
Recipe for my bread machine:- 1 cup fresh sourdough starter
- 2 cups bread flour
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp water (added by the tablespoon during the knead cycle to produce a smooth, unsticky dough)
I ran this through one dough cycle, cut it into 9 pieces, and rolled the pieces into long thin ropes (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in diameter) before twisting into the classic pretzel shape. I put them on a sprayed baking sheet and let them rest about 10 hours at a warm room temperature -- from midmorning until bedtime snack time.
Then I boiled a solution of 2 cups baking soda in 4 quarts water, and boiled the pretzels for 20 seconds or so on each side, letting them drain on a wire rack set over a towel. I placed them on a sprayed baking sheet well sprinkled with kosher salt, and sprinkled their tops with more salt. Then I baked them at 475 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
They smelled like Oktoberfest when I took them out of the oven. Seriously. The aroma was right on.
They are slightly sweet, with a slightly crackly crust, a little softer than I wanted, but with a nicely balanced flavor.
Oh, my, those look really good!
Posted by: Cathy_of_Alex | 13 November 2009 at 11:30 PM