Making soft pretzels with the kids is a fun cooking activity. From preschoolers to teenagers, kids of all ages enjoy shaping the dough to make these soft pretzels. And with this recipe, a lot of the work is done for you in the bread machine.
The first step is gathering your ingredients for the soft pretzel recipe.
You will need:
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 3-1/2 cups flour
- 2 tsp. active dry yeast
- 2 quarts water
- 1/3 cup baking soda
- kosher salt (Important: You must use kosher salt or a sea salt. Don't use regular salt. The grains are too fine.)
How to Make Soft Pretzels - Place Ingredients in the Bread Machine
Place the 1-1/2 cups of water, salt, brown sugar, flour and yeast in your bread machine, in the order specified by the manufacturer. Turn the machine on, and set it to the dough cycle.
This step is the hardest for young children, because it involves waiting. They can easily do this step with you, then go out and play, and come back several hours later to make the pretzels. Or you can make the pretzel dough first, then shape it and bake the soft pretzels with the kids when it's ready.
For the complete recipe, with detailed instructions, see the soft pretzels recipe.
How to Make Soft Pretzels Step 3 - Prepare the Dough
Sprinkle flour evenly over a cutting board or clean, flat surface. Turn the soft pretzel dough out onto the lightly floured surface. Let the dough rest for five minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces. If you happen to have a bench knife (also called a dough scraper), it will come in handy for dividing the dough. If not, you can simply use a chef's knife, or kids can use a plastic knife, to cut the dough.
As with all baked goods, it's ideal if you can cut the dough into equal pieces, because that will allow the pretzels to bake evenly. But if you are making these soft pretzels with kids, let them cut the dough as best they can. You can then bake the soft pretzels in batches, grouping those that are closest in size together.
How to Make Soft Pretzels Step 4 - Roll and Start to Shape the Dough
Now comes the fun part: You get the play with the dough (that's right, it's just like playdough)! Experienced soft pretzel-makers are able to roll and shape the dough in one fluid motion. But here, I will give you pictures that show you how to do it step-by-step. Then, when you get better at it, you can shape the pretzel dough quickly.
Roll each piece of dough between your palms to a 15-inch rope. Make an upside down U with each dough rope, then cross the ends of the dough.
The pretzel dough will look like the breast cancer symbol at this point, which is exactly what you want.
How to Make Soft Pretzels Step 5 - Twist the Soft Pretzel Dough Again
Now, we're going to twist the soft pretzel dough again. Leave the breast cancer symbol-shaped soft pretzel dough as it is on your flat surface, and pick up each end, and twist again.
You will now have a piece of dough that looks like the breast cancer symbol, with two twists under the circle part (see the picture). Make sure you have enough excess dough, after twisting, at the bottom of each end (at least 2-3 inches).
You will need this extra dough for the next step, in which you will finish twisting the dough into a pretzel shape.
How to Make Soft Pretzels Step 6 - Fold Up the Ends of the Pretzel Dough
Now, you're ready to finish twisting the dough into a soft pretzel shape. Each piece of dough is now in a double-twisted breast cancer-symbol shape, with about two-to-three inches of excess dough at each end. Now, you want to take each of those ends and twist it up, attaching them at the top, to make a pretzel shape. Pinch the dough to seal.
Don't worry if your soft pretzels aren't perfectly shaped, like the ones you find in the grocery store.
It takes a little practice, and quite honestly, the soft pretzels taste great regardless of how the dough is shaped. You can even bake them flat, and they will still be delicious.
How to Make Soft Pretzels Step 7 - Dip the Pretzels in a Baking Soda Bath
A quick dip in a water-and-baking-soda bath is all the soft pretzels need before baking. This is what makes the soft pretzels turn a crusty brown after they're baked. If you skip this step, your soft pretzels will turn out more like bread, a light golden brown color.
Bring two quarts of water to boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the 1/3 cup of baking soda to the water, then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer.
Using tongs, slip the soft pretzels into the baking soda bath, two-to-three at a time. Let them soak for about two minutes.
For the complete recipe, click here for the recipe for soft pretzels.
As soon as the soft pretzels come out of the baking soda bath, you want to season them with kosher salt. This allows the salt to sink into the pretzel dough, while it is still hot, leading to better absorption of the seasoning.
Have a cooling rack ready (you might want to set it over a baking sheet to catch drippings). Using the tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the pretzels from the baking soda bath, and transfer them to the cooling rack.
Sprinkle the soft pretzels liberally with kosher salt. Can use sea salt in place of kosher salt, but do not use table salt. It is too fine, and your pretzels will taste salty, not well-seasoned.
Once all of the soft pretzels have had their baking soda baths and been salted with kosher salt, it's time to bake them. Sprinkle 2-3 baking sheets with more kosher salt. Transfer the pretzels to the salted baking sheets, grouping pretzels of the same size together. In other words, put all of the small pretzels on one baking sheet, all of the large pretzels on another sheet, etc. This will enable all of the pretzels on each sheet to finish baking at the same.
Bake the soft pretzels 8-15 minutes until golden brown.
Be sure to check on the pretzels at 8 minutes. If one sheet has small pretzels, it will get done first. You can leave the sheets with the larger pretzels in longer, until they turn brown. Now let the pretzels cool, and eat!