Super Bowl Soft Pretzels

Super Bowl Sunday is coming up this weekend and I thought I would share one of my personal favorite Super Bowl snacks, Soft Pretzels. Although the New England Patriots aren’t playing in the “Big Game” this year, I will still be watching with plenty of fabulous snacks and drinks. Soft pretzels are an excellent snack to serve this Sunday because they are both child and adult friendly. Serve different dipping sauces on the side, such as a savory cheese sauce or spicy mustard or turn them into a dessert and serve with melted chocolate, or carmel sauce.

This Super Bowl Soft Pretzel recipe reminds of a little, hole-in-the- wall, restaurant near the famous Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, Massachusetts. The pretzels they serve there are “as big as your head” and although my version isn’t quite as enormous, they are equally delicious. Warm, soft, and salty – these game day pretzels are sure to please even your pickiest guests. The recipe I created is similar to the one below by Alton Brown. Working with yeast can be difficult, and creating a recipe using yeast is even more difficult. I will not be sharing my original recipe, as I want to keep it a family secret. Enjoy this recipe by Alton Brown which is similar and makes great soft pretzels.

Alton's Homemade Soft Pretzels

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007

Show: Good Eats, Episode: Pretzel Logic 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 package active dry yeast

22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Vegetable oil, for pan

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Pretzel salt

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
5. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.