Cooking Lesson #97 Buttery Soft Pretzels

Buttery Soft Pretzel

How you doin’? There is nothing better than walking through a shopping mall and taking in the delightful yeasty aroma of fresh-baked pretzels. There are two major players in the soft pretzel space—Wetzel's Pretzels (Pasadena, California) and Auntie Anne's (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Both of them are franchised and have multiple locations.
 
You might ask, “How much controversy can there be between two fan favorites?” Obviously, everybody loves pretzels, especially the aroma of hot, soft pretzels. Yum! So, when you’re shopping your way through the mall—whenever we’re allowed to do that again—there is no way you can pass up this delicious snack. Coming from California, some of us are used to the familiar taste of Wetzel’s Pretzel’s, so of course there is a certain amount of brand loyalty to the home brand.
 
Wetzel’s got me with the first whiff of the buttery aroma… it sends you into childhood bliss—no matter your age!  And then there are many college residents who have fond memories of parties with Auntie Anne's make-your-own-pretzel-party pack. After a couple of beers everyone had a good old time baking them off fresh in the dorm oven.
 
One of our CPG clients (consumer packaged goods) thought it was time for a field trip to determine whose brand was superior. It wasn’t as easy as just comparing one brand against the other—there are flavors (and textures) to consider—butter and salt and cinnamon sugar for starters. The first bite of the Auntie Anne's original pretzel was great. It was salty with just a hint of sweetness in the dough that kept us wanting more. The dough was dense and chewy, completely delicious. The Wetzel's Pretzel had a surprising crunch "Wow, this is really crispy!" Upon further evaluation, we realized that the crispiness was not all that this pretzel had to offer! The dough seemed to melt in our mouths, like ice cream on a hot day. The buttery flavor and salt were essentially the same for both pretzels... it was the dough that put Wetzel's over the edge--Go California!
 
Before the taste test, we didn’t think there would be a discernible difference between the two brands. We thought Auntie Anne's could catch up as their pretzel seemed like it should complement the cinnamon sugar topping. Once again Wetzel's dough outshone the sweetness of Auntie Anne's, even with the sugary topping!

Knowing all this, our client asked us to develop a soft pretzel recipe and baking procedures for her stall at the Santa Barbara Market. I may be biased, but I think it was an improvement on both of the two stalwart brands. Following is the perfect no-boil recipe to make mall-style soft pretzels. Watch out Auntie Anne and Mr. Wetzel—Dr. Engoron is coming through.
 
Prep time:  2 hours
Proof time:  1 to 1-1/2 hours
Bake time:  10 to 12 minutes
Yield:  12 Pretzels
 
Ingredients:
For the pretzels
4 teaspoons active dry yeast (about 2 packets)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1-1/4 cups warm water (110º F)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
 
For the soda dip
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping
 
For the “original” topping
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted (use margarine to make it vegan)
2 to 3 tablespoon coarse bagel salt (or coarse sea salt)
 
Directions
To make the pretzels

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt.
3. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add from one to 10 tablespoons of water, one at a time to all the four together.
4. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes.
5. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough ball in the bowl and turn to coat the dough ball with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 450º F and grease your baking sheets.

To make the soda dip

1. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda and salt in hot water.

To form and bake the pretzels

1. When the dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces (or roughly 3.7-ounces per piece). Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape or whatever shape you like.
2. Once all the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution, shake off the excess and place it on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
3. Let the pretzel-formed dough rest for a full 15 minutes to give the yeast a little head start.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned and the internal temperature is between 190⁰ to 200⁰ F.
5. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and transfer the pretzels to a wire rack. While the pretzels are cooling, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse bagel (or sea) salt.

ChefSecret: 

• Why is it so important to keep the yeast water temperature no higher than 110⁰F? Yeast is a living organism and will expire if the water is too warm—don’t kill the yeast or the pretzel will not proof.
• I always suggest that you rotate your pans mid-way thorough the baking cycle.
• If you brush the pretzels with margarine after baking instead of butter it is a vegan treat.
• Take them to the next level by brushing with butter or margarine and sprinkling with cinnamon sugar.

 
Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  Paranoia has really set in. I sneezed in front of my laptop today and the anti-virus program automatically started a scan.
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