I made this recipe from scratch. I did a little research, took some notes, ate pretzels for a week, and came up with this soft, chewy, salty pretzel recipe. [disclaimer: must be eaten warm].

  • Yields: 8
  • Total: 2 hours 

Ingredients (13)

  • 1 tbsp yeast
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 8 oz Blue Moon beer
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • coarse sea salt for topping
  • 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, add one tbsp of yeast, 1/4 tsp of sugar, and 1/4 cup of warm water. Stir the mixture and then let sit for 5 – 10 minutes, or until the yeast starts to foam. This is called {proofing} the yeast. You are trying to see if the yeast is still active.
  2. In a large bowl, add 8 ounces of Blue Moon beer. Once the yeast has proofed, add it to the beer and stir. The beer and yeast mixture should initially fizz for a couple of seconds. This is normal {and cool}.
  3. Next, add the flour and salt to the beer mixture and combine. If your dough is too sticky, then add more flour. If it’s too dry add more water. You want to be able to knead the dough without it falling apart or majorly sticking to you hands. Some stick is necessary.
  4. Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes {by the way, awesome arm workout}.
  5. Place the dough into a oiled/greased/buttered/sprayed bowl, and then lightly oil the dough itself. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for one hour. {make sure your bowl is large enough to allow room for the dough to double in size}.
  6. After the dough has doubled in size {one hour} preheat the oven to 425 F.
  7. While the oven is preheating, tear the dough into 8 evenly sized balls. Roll each ball into a long thin narrow strip and shape into desired pretzel formation. The pretzels will rise a lot while baking, so make sure you roll your pretzels thin. Next, place the pretzels on a baking sheet.
  8. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of hot water and 1 tsp baking soda. Dip each pretzel into the water {5 – 10 seconds} and then place it back on the baking tray. {this process will make the pretzels crunchier and more caramel-y}. Let them sit for 10 minutes.
  9. Finally, brush the pretzels with an egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. The amount of salt is dependent on your taste. {the egg wash will make the pretzel shiny}.
  10. Bake the pretzels for 15 minutes.
  11. While the pretzels are baking mix the mustard, honey, and vinegar in a small sauce pan on low to medium heat. Once the sauce is warm, remove from heat and serve as a dipping sauce for warm pretzels.