Mall Pretzels Angie Lelyukh
Hmm, Making mall pretzels at home, ironic? mm No, not if you get sick of paying for overpriced pretzels at the mall. My favorite place to eat when I get a chance to go the mall is definitely pretzelmaker, one creamy power pomegranate smoothie and a ranch pretzel (that lasts about 3 mins) cost me $10 which made me wonder how much it cost them .. fifty cents? perhaps one dollar? So I was super excited when I found out we are making mall pretzels at school in fact I liked it so much I decided to make them on my own time at home for my family, who, like myself, loves them beyond belief.
I used the same recipe that we used at school. Thankfully the ingredients are quite simple:
1 1/8 t. active dry yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup warm water (110°F)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup bread flour
1 cups warm water (110°F)
1 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
As welll as the method of preparation.
1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in ¾ c. warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.
Preheat an oven to 450°F
2. Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope, pencil thin or thinner. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Place onto parchment covered baking sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar
Analysis
Because the fermentation takes a while to happen I made the batch of dough and let it stand as I ran around running errands I came back about an hour later to find it doubled in size, expected, but I left it sit and when i came back a half hour later, it was almost tripled in size! (unexpected), i thought to myself “Heyy good thing i waited, that means more dough and more pretzels.” But as took of the plastic wrap, poked at it a few times, picked it up, and set it back down, it shrunk in size again to being doubled (i was disappointed). I realized by playing with it let out the CO2 and alcohol during the fermentation process (bad idea). It was also helpful making these in class because i knew how elastic the dough was suppose to be, it took me awhile to get the right texture because I had to add water, then more water then it was too much water and sticky so more flour and on and on but i finally got it.
My, oh, my. Who wouldn't enjoy a warm, soft, buttery, ranch seasoned pretzel? As soon as they came out of the oven I dipped them in melted butter, and drizzled powder ranch seasoning on them (the family favorite flavoring). Taking the first bite of the pretzel was like biting into.. happiness & accomplishment. Being fresh, they were still warm and fluffy. The tasted buttery, garlicky, and salty. The texture from the outside was a little crisp but the inside soft and spongy. The aroma of them was acidic (seasoning), salty and the delicious smell of melted butter. The seasoning really added to the appearance of the pretzels, the little snips of parsley added green color to the golden brown pretzels , and the butter perfectly glazed them, making them look exquisite and mouthwatering.
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