I never pull pranks anymore on April 1st. I now sit on the sofa with the TV remote superglued to my hand, dutifully rising for the National Anthem and cheering loudly for the ceremonial first pitch.
That’s right, it’s baseball season folks! Time for grilling, tailgating, and stadium food.
Even though it breaks an American tradition, I just can’t bring myself to order hot dogs at the ballpark. Dad and I used to down them like nobody’s business, but after glancing once at the nutrition facts for those puppies, I moved on to other not-so-greasy fare.
I then started my own tradition of ordering soft-serve ice cream in a souvenir helmet cup, and the miniature headgear for 11 different teams currently stands on my MLB shelf. But for those select few stadiums that refuse to sell ice cream helmets, I resort to another fail-proof favorite: soft salty pretzels!
modified from this recipe
These pretzels are slightly sweeter than the ballpark variety, but the coarse salt balances it out. They’re really addicting, so I highly suggest making a double batch!
- To prepare the pretzel dough, stir together the yeast, ½ teaspoon of sugar, and warm water in a small bowl, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until frothy. In a large bowl, whisk together 1½ cups of flour, salt, and remaining sugar. Make a well in the center, and pour in the yeast mixture and oil. Stir until a dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead for 4-6 minutes or until the dough springs back when a finger is pressed into it. Shape the dough into a ball.
- Coat a clean, dry bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and roll the dough ball around until coated with the cooking spray. Lay a towel over the top, and place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 400°, and generously coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 10 balls. Roll out each dough ball on the countertop with your hands until it’s about 1½ - 2 feet in length. Twist into a pretzel shape.
- To prepare the pretzel topping, microwave the water for 3 minutes on HIGH. Add the baking soda to a shallow bowl, and pour the hot water on top. Dip each pretzel in the water bath, and place on the prepared sheet. Sprinkle with the coarse sea salt. Bake at 400° for 9-11 minutes or until light brown. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. (Or eat them while they’re still warm!)
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These look amazing!! I am definitely going to try to make these!
Thank you! They’re really easy, although I would recommend watching a YouTube video or two on how to twist pretzels… It was like a tongue twister for my hands the first time I tried!
Wowza!! These are gorgeous!! Better than at the ballpark! I like your easy dipping approach… there was a while where I was into making pretzel buns, and I sat them into a boiling pot of water on the stove for a couple minutes… your method is much simpler!
That’s the whole reason I picked this recipe. Every other one dealt with boiling water, and I’m too big of an accident-prone klutz for that!
Okay, that’s it – I’m coming over so I can steal them all!! (I’m afraid to use yeast..Idk why!)
Good thing I was planning on making another batch this week! Yeast really isn’t scary at all. If you’d like a super easy recipe to start with, I’d suggest this no-knead artisan bread. You just mix the ingredients together, let it sit on the countertop for 2 hours, then bake or store in the fridge to bake later!
MMMMmmm, I love a good pretzel, esp dipped in a thick cheddar sauce! Yours look particularly chewy, hearty and savoury. Ohhh man <3
I’m a mustard fan myself, but I could see how cheddar sauce would be delicious too!
I just made these a minute ago. They turned out great. I made half with an egg wash just to see if there was a difference; both batches look awesome. Enjoying them with beer, pepperettes, and yellow mustard on everything.
I’m so glad to hear it! I wondered about the egg wash too, but the salt seemed to stick okay with just the water from the baking soda bath. Sounds like there’s some great food and drink at your house!
These look great – I’ve been turned off making home made pretzels because they are traditionally made by dipping in caustic soda, requiring gloves and safety glasses, something that has always freaked me out. But I will have to give these a try.
Most of the recipes I saw required dipping the pretzels in a boiling baking soda bath, and I wasn’t willing to do that either. I can’t imagine using lye and needed safety glasses! I really liked the simplicity of this recipe, and I hope you do too if you decide to try it.
They look great, but I don’t think I’ve ever learned how to twist a pretzel…
I had to watch a 6-minute YouTube tutorial made by an Auntie Annie’s worker! In a nutshell, you roll the dough out into a long snake. Bring the two ends together, and twist them around each other once about 1/4 of the way in from each end. (So if your dough snake was 24 inches long, about 6 inches from either end.) Bring the now-twisted ends down and press each slightly to the side of the center of the snake.
I know it’s hard to interpret through words instead of a video, but I hope that helps!
I would love to make these. They look amazing. Thank you.
My pleasure! I hope you enjoy them — we ate them faster than I could twist the dough!
Can you freeze these?
I haven’t tried, but I think so!