Pretzels

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven 180°C / 350°F/Gas 4.

2. Add your teaspoon of salt to the warm water and pour into your mixer or bowl. Attach the dough hook if using. Sprinkle in your sugar and stir, followed by your sachet of dried yeast sprinkled on top. Leave for about 4-5 minutes so the yeast as time to kick start and foam a little.

3. Next, throw in all your flour followed by your melted butter and turn your mixer on.  Let the machine do all the handwork so you don’t have to, it takes about 5 minutes in my Kenwood. The dough will start to come away from the sides of the mixer and gather into a smooth dough.  (Grease your hands a little as this will help slide the dough off the hook when removing )

4. Knead your dough on the counter for just a minute into a dough ball, oil your bowl and put the dough back to rest for about 40 minutes to an hour, just until it has nearly doubled in size.

5. While you’re waiting prepare your pretzel bath. Fill a pot with 2.2 litres of water and add 120g bread soda and bring to a boil, once boiling turn the heat down and let simmer until you’re ready to dunk your pretzels. It’s important to give your pretzels a warm soda bath as this will give the signature shiny coat, chewiness and texture to your pretzels, don’t skip this part.

6. Once your dough has proved, tip onto a floured worktop and divide into 8 for large pretzels or 16 for smaller ones. Roll each piece into a long sausage almost the length of your arm. Shape the sausage into a “U” and then fold left over right and right over left for the signature twist.

7. Dip each pretzel into your hot soda bath for twenty seconds, no more or your pretzels can have a metallic aftertaste . Scoop out using a slotted spoon and gently place on your parchment paper or silicone mat. Glaze with a little egg and sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt .
   Bake in your pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes depending on the size.

8. Once baked, let cool for 15 minutes and enjoy with a variety of dips and dunks or slather with cream cheese.