I love pretzels! These were sold everywhere in Romania. It was the kind of thing one could buy to eat as a snack on the street. The stands were filled with delicious smelling pretzels, covered with sesame seeds or salt. The only question is why I haven’t made these at home before now.
These are not hard to make and it’s true that they need a bit of faffing with the boiling before baking, but that takes a very small amount of time anyway. Amazingly, the pretzels turned out exactly how I remembered them from my childhood. The texture is spot on.
Ingredients for 10 Pretzels:
– 500g white flour
– 1 tsp yeast
– 2 tbs sugar
– 250 ml warm water
– 1 tbs oil
– 1 tbs heaped sodium bicarbonate
– white and black sesame seeds
– sea salt
Add the flour, yeast and sugar, pour the water in the mixer ball and mix it for 8 min after it incorporates. Rub the oil on the ball of dough and leave to prove until double in size. Flip the dough on the worktop and divide it in 10, beofre rolling each piece into a 60cm string. After all the string are made, take each one and shape it into the pretzel, making sure that you push firmly the ends into it to seal them.
After this, boil 2l of water and turn the oven to 230C. Prepare 2 large trays by placing baking parchment on them.
Once the water is boiling, add the sodium bicarbonate, wait for the foam to dissipate and add 1 or 2 pretzels, depending on the pan’s size, into the water. Boil them for 30 seconds on each side. Use a spatula to take each one out, rinse with cold water, and place it gently on the tray. While the other 2 pretzels are in the water spread some sesame seeds on the one just taken out and some sea salt.
Once all the pretzels are on the baking tray ready to be baked, put the trays in the oven. Leave to bake for only 10 minutes. When they are golden brown they are ready and you can transfer them on a cooling rack.
Have you ever made pretzels?
I too love pretzels! Yours turned out so perfect, Anca. Good job!
Yours look so good! I’ve never made them at home, always a bit put off by the boiling part.
I like mine topped with kosher salt and served with prepared yellow mustard. 😋
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The boiling part sounds scary before you make it once or twice. It needs to be precise, or too much boiling cooks the dough for too long, but a timer is all that’s needed. 🙂
I’m not sure that I could be bothered to faff around making pretzels from scratch, when there are so many good bakers out there who specialise in making them.
I do enjoy a good pretzel though, the more seasoning, the better!
I also love sweet pretzels with cinnamon!
Thanks for sharing your recipe and memories and have a good weekend 🙂
I love the idea of a sweet pretzel, I should tell my husband about it. 🙂
Your pretzels look gorgeous, I could eat these every day!
Love eating pretzels but have never made them ! Theres always a first time
I love it pretzels I think it’s definitely down to my time spent in America! I’ve always wanted to try making them myself but the look a bit fiddly! Perhaps now is the time to try!!