I finally tried a soft pretzel recipe. This one is from Baking Illustrated. I also have one from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I may the latter one next time because I am not 100% satisfied with the Baking Illustrated version. Honestly though, I may have messed up the technique by boiling the pretzels too long. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong.
Here's the final result
I had some trouble shaping the pretzels, but I think I can work that out. I need to use a longer rope basically. I need a courser salt as well. I was using Kosher salt, but pretzel salt would be ideal. Also, the salt started to melt on the pretzels, so maybe the salt should go on when served. Or maybe using larger salt crystals will prevent fast melting. Another options would be to opt for poppy seeds or sesame seed. I kinda like the idea of sesame seeds because it gives it a unique twist.
The biggest problem with the pretzels (as you can somewhat see from the pictures) is the trouble I had with the crust. The pretzels look wrinkly and the crust was too thick. It was impossible to chew through and the undersides (which were baked the most leaning against the sheet pan) had a thick crust. Baking Illustrated recommends boiling the pretzels 30 seconds on each side. Artisan Bread recommends 2 minutes on each side, with a much more dilute baking soda solution.
Here's the final result
I had some trouble shaping the pretzels, but I think I can work that out. I need to use a longer rope basically. I need a courser salt as well. I was using Kosher salt, but pretzel salt would be ideal. Also, the salt started to melt on the pretzels, so maybe the salt should go on when served. Or maybe using larger salt crystals will prevent fast melting. Another options would be to opt for poppy seeds or sesame seed. I kinda like the idea of sesame seeds because it gives it a unique twist.
The biggest problem with the pretzels (as you can somewhat see from the pictures) is the trouble I had with the crust. The pretzels look wrinkly and the crust was too thick. It was impossible to chew through and the undersides (which were baked the most leaning against the sheet pan) had a thick crust. Baking Illustrated recommends boiling the pretzels 30 seconds on each side. Artisan Bread recommends 2 minutes on each side, with a much more dilute baking soda solution.
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