Mouthwatering Soft Pretzel Recipe

A bad habit (well some might consider it a good habit) I have is making food I have tried and loved, whether it's from a restaurant from the other side of the world or a takeaway from home. These soft pretzels are inspired by my trip to Istanbul last year, at the breakfast buffet in my hotel they served soft buttery bread bites which I had to make when I got home.

I came across this soft pretzels recipe on Pinterest which tastes the same. I have made these four or five times in the last year which goes to show how amazing they are, once I made as many as 24. They're beautifully buttery (without using butter) and perfect with a bit of margarine for breakfast. It's Ramadan which means I had to wait till Iftar to eat them, but these are best served straight out the oven.

TIP: Read the recipe at least twice before starting to make them because it can get a little confusing.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

Prep time: 2hrs

Cook time: 12mins

Total time: 2hrs 12mins

Ingredients

1 pkg. Active Yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons

1 cup Warm Water about 110 degrees

1/4 cup Honey

3 cups Bread Flour

1 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Water

3 Tablespoons Bicarbonate of Soda

1 Egg beaten

6 Tablespoons Butter

Coarse Salt

Method

- Put warm water and yeast into a small bowl so the yeast can activate, leave it for 10 mins. In a separate bowl mix together the flour and salt.

- Stir the honey into the yeast mixture. Once it's all mixed, add it to the flour mixture. Knead for about 10 minutes, the magic is in kneading so don't skip this step! The original recipe asks for a dough hook but I just use my hands, I usually turn it onto a worktop to knead. If the dough gets too sticky you can add a little oil onto your hands but not too much.

- Lightly oil the bowl and place you dough back in, cling film it and leave it to rise. After 1 1/2 hours punch the dough and let it rise again for 40 minutes.

- In the last 20 minutes of letting the dough rise, preheat your oven at 230 degrees. Get your baking trays and line them with grease proof paper.

- Once your dough has risen cut it up into around 10 parts (this depends on how big you want them to be).

- Roll each piece with your fingers into a long rope then make a pretzel shape with them. Don't worry if they look small because they will get bigger.

- In a large skillet add six cups of water and the bicarbonate of soda. Place over a high heat till boiling then turn down the flame. You have to bathe the pretzels in the water.

- Place the pretzels one at a time on a slotted spoon and gently put it into the water, leave it in for about 45 seconds. Drain well and place it on the baking tray. Repeat this with all the pretzels. Beat an egg and brush over the pretzels and sprinkle with course salt.

- Bake for 11-15 minutes. Brush with melted butter and serve. If you want to go the extra mile, you can make a glaze with icing sugar and cinnamon to make it sweeter.

I got this recipe from: https://www.modernhoney.com/buttery-soft-pretzels/