Pretzels Anyone?!

As a New Yorker, I love pretzels and in NYC you can find them practically on every corner. Large salted pretzels with globs of yellow mustard handed out on little white sheets of parchment paper or the scent of cinnamon-sugar pretzels while shopping within the mall make me super happy; but, let's be honest, all that white flour, butter, and sugar couldn't be all that healthy. So, I began thinking about how I could make the pretzel healthier and yes, whole wheat flour did make it into the equation. The dough for my pretzels would include the traditional bread flour and white flour, but I decided I would cut the white flour in half and subsititue it with whole wheat flour. Why, you ask? Well, because we all know the benefits of whole grain and this would add a little extra fiber into the mix, which means that it's going to keep you fuller longer and that means instead of you running to eat 2 of these, one is going to satisfy you just fine. So, how do you make the dough? Let's begin:

Ingredients for Pretzel Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups Warm Water
• 1 1/2 tsp. Yeast
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 cup Bread Flour
• 1 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the warm water, yeast, brown sugar, and salt; set aside for 5 minutes or until the yeast mixture becomes foamy. If you don't have a stand mixer don't worry, you can knead your dough by hand.
2. In a seperate bowl, combine your flour.
3. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and begin to slowly add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture (make sure your machine isn't on high, unless you want to come out of the kitchen covered in flour). Once all of the flour has been combined with the water, let your mixer rip until the dough pulls away from the sides. If you're doing this by hand, don't worry, go ahead and begin mixing your flour and yeast mixture with a wooden spoon, once you have a solid mixture, turn it out onto your counter and knead by hand.
4. Now for a special note: Flour can be finnecky and depending on the type of day you have (humid or dry) you might find that you need a little more water to get your dough to the right consistency. Please don't go crazy and add water by the cup, but rather add it one tablespoon at a time until the dough has formed a smooth ball.
5. Cover and place in a warm, draft-free place for at least 1/2 an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

          Dough before the rise                                Dough after 30 minutes
Now that our dough has risen, we're going to need to of cours form our pretzels, but also create a baking soda water bath to dunk our pretzels in. This will give your pretzels a that chewy crust we're used to having not only in our pretzels, but also in our bagels.

Ingredients for Water Bath:

• 2 cups of Hot Water
• 2 Tbsp. Baking Soda

1. To form your pretzels, divide your dough into 12 equal balls. Then, form each ball into a long (approx. 12") rope and then twist and form into your basic pretzel shape.
2. Dunk into your water bath for no more than 30 seconds and place on your baking sheet and allow to rise for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Farenheight and melt 4 Tbsp. of Unsalted Butter.
3. Brush your pretzels with your butter and top with salt.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Another note: if you plan to make Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels, first bake off your pretzels and once the come out of the oven, brush with more butter and dip in cinnamon and sugar mixture.

MMMMM.... Pretzels....

Top Row: Parmesan and Black Pepper
Middle Row: Kosher Salt
Bottom Row: Cinnamon Sugar


Inside the Pretzel

 Now, you may be asking, why go through all the trouble of making your own pretzels? Well, first and foremost, because you know what's going into a soft baked pretzel made at home. Seconly, because now that you have the dough, you can have fun with these guys. You can make them any flavor you want (parmesan, garlic, sesame) all of these flavors work and the possibilities are endless. You can also stuff these bad boys with your favorite deli meats and cheese or your favorite sweet fillings: Chocolate stuffed pretzel.. yes, please! The possibilites are endless and delicious so go ahead and give these a try!