Wilson, Wyoming.

There’s a definitive moment in the mountains when summer ends and we are blessed with a fleeting glimpse of autumn. We’ve been particularly lucky this year; enjoying a full month of golden confetti leaves that spot the valley and mountains. With that first whisper of winter, however, the urge to hunker down is infectious.

For me, that means lots and lots of baking. A popular time for the consumption of beer, brats and warm, soft, pretzels, I decided to try my hand at making a batch of Bavarian soft pretzels to ring in October. To stay consistent with the seasons sentiments, I followed my nostalgia to a classic Martha Stewart recipe, making a few adjustments where I saw fit. These are not to be rushed. Give yourself a solid two hour window from start to finish.

 

Recipe:

  • 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
  • 1/4 tsp coarse salt
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 cup warm (but not hot) water
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp Coleman’s mustard powder
  • 2 tbsp softened, unsalted butter
  • Vegetable oil for baking sheets
  • 3 tbsp baking soda
  • pretzel salt (I used Maldon salt and it worked out great)
  • 4 tbsp butter, melted

 

Method:

Mix the water, sugar, salt and active dry yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble. It should smell sweet and yeasty.

Mix mustard powder and flour. Using your fingers, mix the butter in until the mixture resembles small pebbles. Slowly add the water/yeast mixture into the flour, use your hands to bring it all together before turning it onto a well floured surface. Kneed the dough until it is no longer shaggy and is somewhat elastic. This should take about five minutes.

Cover the dough to let it prove for thirty minutes.

Oil two sheet pans with vegetable oil. Once the dough has risen, divide it into twelve equal portions. Roll the dough out (do not flour the surface, as this will cause the dough to slip and you will not get a nice, snakelike shape) to 18 inches. Grabbing both ends, make a U shape with the dough, crossing the ends together. Fold the crossed ends towards the bottom of the U and press it into place, creating the iconic heart-like shape of a pretzel. Put the pretzel onto one of the sheet pans, and repeat with the remaining doughs. Once finished, allow the doughs to rise for 20 minutes.  

Now comes the fun part. Preheat the oven to 475. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Once the water boils, add the baking soda. in batches of two, boil the pretzels until puffy and shiny, about 1-2 minutes each side. I found starting with the crossed-side down was the easiest way to keep its shape. Remove onto racks to drain and continue with the remaining doughs.

Brush the tops of each pretzel with the melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and bake in the oven until a darker golden brown. If your sheets are divided between the top and bottom racks, make sure to rotate the pans half-way through to ensure an even bake.

Serve with mustard or cheesy beer dip and of course, a tall, sudsy German beer.

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