I first saw this recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction and was immediately enthralled by the idea of having soft pretzels in 30 minutes. You see, I already have my favorite soft pretzel recipe down to a T, but I don’t make them very often just due to the amount of time and work involved. It’s not that they are difficult to make, it’s just that they take time. Time to make the dough, time to less the dough rise, time to roll and shape and boil the dough… all of this time adds up quickly, you see.
30 minutes, on the other hand. 30 minutes I could handle.
I was very skeptical when I read the recipe and it called for active dry yeast. It seemed so… wrong. My first thought was to replace the standard active dry yeast with the RapidRise variety, but I didn’t. I decided to try the recipeas written (more or less), adding a few of the things that I think make my favorite recipe taste so great.
The result was respectable. The pretzel, while tasty, didn’t have the traditional pretzel mouth-feel and texture (I suspect from the lack of boiling) but It was still a totally respectable snack, especially considering the time saved. Also, since boiling was removed from the equation, it makes these pretzels the perfect recipe for baking alongside your little ones, they could even make fun pretzel shapes!
30 minute soft pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water (warm, NOT HOT, if you can't keep your finger in the water for a few seconds it's too hot)
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 – 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
- coarse salt for sprinkling (a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle also works well for a sweet version)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat (DO NOT USE FOIL OR YOUR PRETZELS WILL STICK). Set aside.
- Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and melted butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit until mixture is nice and foamy (appx 5 minutes).
- Mix 1 cup of flour with salt and stir into yeast mixture. Slowly add remaining 3 cups of flour 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough is thick*. Continue to add more flour until dough is no longer sticky. It is ready to knead when it's springy and bounces back after poking with your finger.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic,about 5 minutes, and shape into 2 balls. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut each ball of dough into 8 triangle sections. (I weighed this for you, but then promptly forgot to write it down so I have no idea what the actual “measurement” is. I’m so sorry.)
- Once cut into triangles, roll each triangle into a ball and shape into pretzels. Leave the remaining dough covered with a kitchen towel to keep it from drying out while you shape the pretzels.
To shape the pretzels:
- Take one small dough ball and roll it into a rope, I recommend 18 to 22 inches long, depending on how big you want your pretzels to be. The process of rolling is hard to explain, so I made you a video to help! That makes up for me forgetting the weights, right?
When Ready to Bake
- In a wide, shallow bowl, beat the egg and water together. Dunk both sides of the pretzel into the egg mixture and allow excess to drip off before placing onto your baking sheet. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with salt.
- Bake the pretzels for 10 minutes at 425F degrees. Turn the oven to broil and bake for 5 more minutes to brown the tops. Watch closely to avoid burning.
- I recommend wrapping extra pretzels in foil for storage, make sure they are completely cooled. They will keep for a few days at room temp, but freezing is definitely the way to go. They are best reheated in a 400 degree oven, but can be microwaved for about 30 to 45 seconds as well.
Notes
* If using a stand mixer, mix first cup of flour & salt on low until just incorporated. Add remaining 3 cups of flour and mix on low until incorporated. Increase speed to medium until dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 minutes.
https://wee-eats.com/2013/09/07/30-minute-soft-pretzels/
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water (warm, NOT HOT, if you can't keep your finger in the water for a few seconds it's too hot)
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 – 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
- coarse salt for sprinkling (a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle also works well for a sweet version)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat (DO NOT USE FOIL OR YOUR PRETZELS WILL STICK). Set aside.
- Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and melted butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit until mixture is nice and foamy (appx 5 minutes).
- Mix 1 cup of flour with salt and stir into yeast mixture. Slowly add remaining 3 cups of flour 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough is thick*. Continue to add more flour until dough is no longer sticky. It is ready to knead when it's springy and bounces back after poking with your finger.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic,about 5 minutes, and shape into 2 balls. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut each ball of dough into 8 triangle sections. (I weighed this for you, but then promptly forgot to write it down so I have no idea what the actual “measurement” is. I’m so sorry.)
- Once cut into triangles, roll each triangle into a ball and shape into pretzels. Leave the remaining dough covered with a kitchen towel to keep it from drying out while you shape the pretzels.
- Take one small dough ball and roll it into a rope, I recommend 18 to 22 inches long, depending on how big you want your pretzels to be. The process of rolling is hard to explain, so I made you a video to help! That makes up for me forgetting the weights, right?
- In a wide, shallow bowl, beat the egg and water together. Dunk both sides of the pretzel into the egg mixture and allow excess to drip off before placing onto your baking sheet. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with salt.
- Bake the pretzels for 10 minutes at 425F degrees. Turn the oven to broil and bake for 5 more minutes to brown the tops. Watch closely to avoid burning.
- I recommend wrapping extra pretzels in foil for storage, make sure they are completely cooled. They will keep for a few days at room temp, but freezing is definitely the way to go. They are best reheated in a 400 degree oven, but can be microwaved for about 30 to 45 seconds as well.
Notes
* If using a stand mixer, mix first cup of flour & salt on low until just incorporated. Add remaining 3 cups of flour and mix on low until incorporated. Increase speed to medium until dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 minutes.
[ Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction ]
