Four Types of Pretzels!
First boiled, then baked, this definitely was a fun recipe to make (and even better to eat!). Although we slightly deviate from the German traditional pretzel of just salted, we thought we’d switch it up and used this recipe to make four different types of German Soft Pretzels. Hopefully these delicious snacks will satisfy everyone in the room including those who prefer sweet and those who prefer savory. However, if you’ve already found your absolute favorite type of pretzel, you’re free to just make that type.
- Salted
- Garlic Parmesan
- Cinnamon Sugar
- Plain
A few tips to make perfect German Soft Pretzels:
Give the dough ample time to rise. This is what lets them get soft, light, and airy on the inside.
Don’t overcrowd the pot! Keep in mind that when you place the soft pretzels in the water, they will swell up. If you have too many pretzels in the same pot, they may not cook evenly and might stick together.
Make sure to remember the egg wash step. Similar to baking pies, this step is key to making the outside crunchy and golden brown.
In this recipe and all others, we recommend using freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It really makes a difference and while it’s somewhat expensive initially, a little bit goes a long way so it ends up lasting awhile. Therefore, we think it’s worth it!
One tip when making this recipe– to make the two ends stick to the bottom fold of the pretzel, just dab it with a wet finger and let it sit for a few minutes- this way it sticks and won’t fall apart when you drop it in the water.
Feel free to serve these pretzels with sausage, a dipping sauce (we went with the traditional mustard), and of course, your favorite beer!
Give this recipe a try and comment below, letting us know your favorite types of German soft pretzels! And if you enjoy this method of baking, definitely check out our recipe for Everything Bagels.
German Soft Pretzels, Four Ways
Ingredients
Pretzels
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 packet yeast
- 2 eggs beaten
Toppings
- Parmesan cheese shredded
- garlic salt
- Coarse granulated salt
- Cinnamon
- White sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine warm water with salt, sugar, oil and yeast. Let sit for a few minutes before adding the bread flour, cup by cup, incorporating the flour into the water as you go. Once all flour has been added, knead dough for a few minutes until it becomes an elastic ball.
- It should be damp like play-do but not too damp (if this is the case can add a bit more flour but don’t add any more water at this point!). Coat dough ball with a bit of olive oil and let rise in a bowl covered with a dish towel for 1 hour.
- After an hour, remove pretzel dough from bowl and use a dough cutter or knife to separate into 8 equally sized pieces. Keeping the unused dough balls covered by dish towel, roll them out one at a time until they become ~20 inches long.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Twist each strand into a pretzel (cross in the middle, twist, and flip the twist down to the bottom).
- Now, bring a pot of water to a boil, mix in ⅔ cup baking soda and boil the pretzels one at a time for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Place them on lightly oiled parchment paper-lined baking sheets and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Whisk together eggs in a bowl and brush egg wash onto the tops of the soft pretzels. Here we decided to make 4 different types but it’s really just chef’s choice! Two pretzels we sprinkled over an even mix of cinnamon and white sugar. Two pretzels we sprinkled over shredded Parmesan cheese and some garlic salt. Two pretzels we added just coarse granulated salt. And two we just kept plain.
- Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and serve your delicious German soft pretzels warm (optional mustard for dipping).
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