I had a neighbor many years ago who made these pretzels one day when our kids were in nursery school. She made all the letters of the alphabet with them and the kids loved them. They were so good and I couldn't believe you could make homemade pretzels like that. She gave me the recipe and I have been making them ever since. They're so easy and quick - you don't even have to let them rise.
In this recipe, you simply mix all the ingredients together and then form your shapes, place them on a baking sheet, brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with salt. They bake up in 15 to 20 minutes without any boiling step.
You can form them into any shapes you want. They puff up a little as they bake. You can also make just plain ones with coarse salt or you can add just about anything you like - I've made "Pizza Pretzels" by adding chopped pepperoni and cheese right into the dough. There's so many possibilities. Have fun with these!
Mary's Homemade Pretzels
for a printable recipe click here
makes 6-8 big pretzels
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups warm water (but not hot)
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast (fast acting, Rapid Rise, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 cups AP flour
- 1 egg, beaten with a little bit of water
- coarse kosher salt for sprinkling
plain pretzels with just coarse salt on top
. . . or sprinkle a variety of seasonings and grated cheese on top
Instructions:
In a large bowl, add first four ingredients in the order listed. Mix well until it forms a nice dough.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take pieces of the dough and roll into shapes. I like to do traditional pretzel twists, but you can also make pretzel rods or any shape you want, like letters.
Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with salt.
Bake about 15 -20 minutes at 425 F degrees, until deep golden brown.
Variations:
Pizza Pretzels: Add 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese and 3 ounces of chopped pepperoni when mixing the dough, to make pizza pretzels. Top with salt and any other seasoning you like - cracked black pepper, red chili pepper, oregano, etc.
Seasoned Pretzels: Add 1 teaspoon each of black pepper, coarse sea salt, dry rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder in a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle on pretzels after the egg wash. Grate Parmesan Cheese on top and bake.
