Giant Soft Pretzels

Missy Wright's Note:

These are so yummy! Even if a bit messy to make. You can also shape the pretzels into letters or numbers. Kids love to do that. You can also brush with butter after you take the out of the oven and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over them. My Kids love them that way.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 8.0 pretzels

• 1 cup water, plus
• 2 tablespoons water (at 70 to 80 degrees)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 quarts water
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Place water, flour, sugar & yeast in a large bowl.
3. Mix and knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. (Add 2 TBS of flour after a few minutes if needed).
5. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.
6. Divide into 8 balls.
7. Roll each ball out into 20-inch ropes and form into pretzel shape.
8. In a large sauce pan, bring water and baking soda to a boil.
9. Drop pretzels into water 2 at a time, boil for 10-15 seconds.
10. Remove with slotted spoons and drain on paper towels.
11. Place pretzles on a greased baking sheet and bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Spritz or lightly brush with water.
13. Sprinkle with salt and Enjoy!

Reviews

[Steel City Brat]

I had tried several different recipes on the site hoping to find one that produced a soft pretzel most like those peddled by the street vendors in my hometown of Philadelphia. I had just about given up when I decided to try this recipe and I am SOOOO happy that I did. I made 2 batches in as many days because my husband, my daughter (and yes, me) couldn't get enough of them. The first batch I made tasted great, but were terribly flat. The 2nd batch was a complete success. With the second batch, I rolled the dough into 8 or 10 inch ropes and twisted the ends several times before folding them over in order to create bigger knots, the best part of a pretzel. I also made braided ropes and those too where yummylicoius! Most pretzels were left plain (no salt) and some were sprayed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, then sprinkled with a cinnamon and Splenda mix. Both were DELICIOUS but I favor the plain, although the cinnamon ones were the perfect compliments to my morning cup of coffee. I'd like to offer a few suggestions which make the process of making these pretzels a bit easier -- I found that leaving the pretzels in the soda bath considerably longer than what the recipe states will result in a puffier pretzel. YAY! Also, pulling them from the soda was a bit of a challenge. I tried just about every spatula and slotted utensil I could find in my kitchen, but nothing cared about keeping the pretzels intact. Eventually, success came when I decided to try a vegetable steamer basket - a T-Fal pot insert much like a deep fryer basket. It was as though the insert was specifically made for making pretzels. When it came time to lift the pretzels from the bath, they were completely contained in the basket so there was no battling bubbles in the water in hopes of catching a pretzel without totally destroying it. EASY PEEZY! Needless to say, if you are looking for the perfect soft pretzel recipe, this is it!

[Momma21]

I only gave this 4 stars because although I followed the recipe exactly, my pretzel bites came out tasting like mini-dinner rolls. Well the first batch anyways. The second batch was left to boil longer in REALLY boiling water and they tasted like pretzels. I enjoyed this recipe and will follow my own advice to myself next time: make sure the water is really boiling and let them boil a little longer than 10-15 seconds.

[Piper Lee]

These are totally FTW! *for the win* My 4 boys, dh, and I ate these up like we'd never had food in our lives! I made the dough, then rolled each ball out flat with a rolling pin, wrapped it around Oscar Meyer Cheese Dogs, boiled them, drained them, and baked them just like the recipe says for pretzels. My boys took the left-overs to school and ate them cold the next day in their lunch. The teachers were totally impressed by the homemade wiener wraps. LOLz Thanks for sharing the best pretzel recipe EVER!!