Philly Style Pretzel Dough Food

ONE BIG PHILLY PRETZEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven 450 degrees F.
• Lightly flour a clean work surface. Knead dough into a ball. Roll dough out into a large rope. Form a large figure-8 with the dough on a baking sheet. Brush with the egg and sprinkle generously with salt. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until risen and nicely browned.
• Let cool before serving. Serve with good, spicy mustard.

SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• Warm the milk and 2 tablespoons of the butter in the microwave until the butter is just melted, about 90 seconds; do not boil. (Alternatively, warm the butter and milk in a small saucepan.) Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Mix on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low, gradually add the warm milk/butter mixture to the bowl. When the dough forms a cohesive mass, switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. (Alternatively, the dough can be mixed and kneaded by hand.) Shape the dough into a ball, place in a clean, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a 2-qt baking dish, combine the baking soda with 2¼ cups warm water. Stir until the baking soda is dissolved; set aside. (Dipping the pretzel dough in a baking soda solution gives the pretzels a nice golden brown crust.)
• Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn it out onto a clean work surface. (If the dough seems sticky, you can dust it with a bit of flour as needed.) Shape the dough into a log, then cut into 6 equal pieces; cover with a damp dishtowel so the dough doesn't dry out. Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 24-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch.
• Using two hands, gently dip each "rope" into the soda solution. Let any excess liquid drip off, then form the dough into a pretzel shape directly on the prepared baking sheet (form a U-shape, then holding the ends of the rope, cross them over and under each other -- making a twist in the center -- and press the ends onto the bottom of the pretzel). Sprinkle evenly with the coarse salt. Bake until golden, 8 to 12 minutes; watch the bottoms carefully as they can burn.
• Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and brush on the baked pretzels. The pretzels are best enjoyed warm out of the oven or fresh on the same day (reheat in the oven or microwave).
• Note: Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant yeast, however, the dough will take longer to rise. To give active dry yeast a boost, you can dissolve it in the warm milk and butter, let it sit until frothy, about 10 minutes, and then proceed with the recipe.
• Note: If you prefer a cinnamon sugar topping, omit the coarse salt. Brush with butter after baking and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar (½ cup sugar plus about ¾ teaspoon cinnamon)
• Make-Ahead Instructions: After the dough has risen, it can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for a few months. Thaw the frozen dough in the refrigerator before using. The dough can be shaped into pretzel bites while still cool, but allow about 30 minutes for the bites to puff up a bit before dipping and baking.

CHOCOLATE PRETZELS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place pretzels on baking sheets. Unwrap candy kisses and place one in the center of each pretzel.
• Place in preheated oven 1 to 2 minutes, until kisses melt. Remove from oven and place one candy-coated chocolate in the center of each pretzel. Chill in refrigerator until set.

PHILLY STYLE SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl.
• Stir in teaspoon salt, sugar and 2-cups of flour.
• Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour t make dough easy to handle.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic. (about 5-minutes).
• Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover: let rise until doubled (about 60-minutes). Dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched.
• Heat oven to 425°.
• Punch down dough and cut into 16-equal parts. Roll each part into a rope about 18� long. Twist each rope into a pretzel shape.
• Brush pretzels with beaten egg and sprinkle coarse salt. Bake until pretzels are golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).
• If using self-rising flour omit 1-teaspoon of salt.

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475. Dissolve yeast thoroughly in 1/4 cup of warm water. Mix in 1 tsp white sugar. Leave for 5-10 minutes or until yeast becomes foamy.
• Stir in the additional 1 cup of water.
• Combine 4 cups of flour and salt.
• Mix to combine flour and salt mixture with yeast and water mixture. The dough should be stiff and smooth, not sticky. If needed, add more flour to reach this consistency.
• Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it feels more elastic.
• Round the dough into a ball and place it back in the mixing bowl. Cover and place it in a warm area, allowing it to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.
• After dough has doubled in size, pinch off a small amount. Make a long coil for large homemade soft pretzels or short coils for pretzel knots.
• Make a heart shape or a figure 8 for regular pretzels and simply tie in a knot for mini pretzel knots. Wet the ends and pinch the dough a bit to get it to stick if needed.
• Place completed pretzel shapes on a baking sheet and allow to rise.
• Dissolve the baking soda in water on the stove top and bring it to a boil. I find a wider pot or even a wok works well for this, as the pretzels will float.
• Once the water comes to a boil, drop the pretzels in one at a time, one minute per side. (For the knots, you can put several in at a time.)
• Turn over after one minute.
• Remove and place on a cooling rack to dry off a bit.
• Once the pretzels have cooled for a moment, you can sprinkle Kosher salt if you please. (Add the salt too soon and it will melt. Add the salt too late and the dough will be dry and it won't stick.)
• Repeat for all remaining pretzels.
• Place all pretzels of the same size on a baking sheet.
• Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes for full-sized pretzels. Watch closely for soft pretzel knots as they are smaller and will likely take only 5 - 8 minutes.
• Remove from the oven when color matches a traditional soft pretzel. Cool and enjoy!

PHILLY STYLE PRETZEL DOUGH

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast on the 1 1/2 cups warm water in mixing bowl and agitate slightly to dissolve. Add the sugar and dissolve.
• Add the flours and salt, knead until smooth and elastic.
• Let rise until doubled, about an hour. The card didn't specify if it should be covered or not.
• When the dough is almost done rising, make the baking soda bath with the baking soda and 2 cups warm water. Make sure to stir it often!
• After the dough has risen, punch the air out of it.
• Divide the dough into 12 pieces on a clean surface, roll into a long rope about 1/2 inch thick, and shape-- such as circles, twists, nuggets, hearts, traditional shape, etc.
• For traditional pretzel shape, shape the rope like a U cross the two ends over each other, pull the ends down and attach them at the bottom of the U.
• Carefully dip each pretzel in the the baking soda bath for 20 seconds, and place on a greased baking sheet.
• Allow the pretzels to rise again til doubled in size-- not listed on the recipe card (they need to describe some of these recipes better!) but I am assuming it to be roughly another 60 minutes because the prep time is listed as 120 minutes total.
• Bake at 450F for about 10 minutes or until golden-brown.
• Now here's the fun part-- brushing and seasoning/decorating! Melted butter and olive oil work for brushing, about 4 tablespoons (more or less depending on how much you like) will work for 12 pretzels, that's what is listed on the recipe card but I decided not to include it because some people may not want to brush it on. If youdidn't bake your toppings on, brush with butter and oil and proceed with your own ideas or the ones I and the magazine suggest.
• For toppings, kosher salt is the main one for traditional pretzels. But why not try a cinnamon-sugar mixture like coarse pearl sugar and primo quality cinnamon? Sesame seeds, or a mix of black and toasted sesame seeds by themselves or with some garam masala and olive oil. Garlic salt and parmesan cheese (the powdery kind!) for Italian pretzels, with your favorite pizza or pasta sauce as a dipper! Use your favorite herbs, fresh or dried! Dulce de leche sauce and dried apples for gourmet pretzels! The sky's the limit!