Happy belated Oktoberfest! I just had to make these yummy pretzels before October ended in honor of the famous German holiday of Oktoberfest. Soft pretzels are one of the most famous delicious staples of Germany and pretty simple to make. We discovered my little man (son) loves pretzels while eating them at the mall one day and knew he would love walking around with one of these homemade pretzels in his hand/mouth. My husband also scarfed down a couple of these delectables fresh out of the oven.
I served these warm pretzels with some homemade soup making a cold evening a cozy and delicious one. Since my husband doesn't like them too salty I added salt to some of them leaving the others plain. They are fabulous served with your favorite toppings (I sprinkled on some parmesan cheese) or with your favorite dip, including honey mustard or a cheese dip. I used the recipe from allrecipes.com to make these pretzels. After making these, let me know how they compare to mall bought ones you've had!
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (10 degrees F)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup baking soda
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the yeast mixture then oil. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 or 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
- When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned. Remove and enjoy hot!
