Combining your pandemic bread-making skills with Oktoberfest? German-style pretzels are a great place to start. Not only are they crowd-pleasers, but the pretzels’ firm dough also makes them easier to work with than other doughs, says Certified Master Baker Jeffrey Hamelman of Vermont. This recipe, which Hamelman developed for King Arthur Baking Co., comes complete with step-by-step photos showing how to shape a classic pretzel.
Like what you’re kneading? Look for 36 new home-baking recipes and more, including several German breads, in the third edition of Hamelman’s Julia Child Award-winning book, “Bread: A Baker’s Book of Recipes and Techniques” (Wiley; 2021), which debuts in February.
King Arthur’s German-Style Pretzels
Yields 10 pretzels
Ingredients:
5 cups + 2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 ½ cups less ½ tablespoon water
2 teaspoons table salt
1 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons butter, soft
¼ teaspoon diastatic malt powder (optional)
Water bath
6 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Topping (optional)
Coarse sea salt, kosher salt or pretzel salt
Directions:
To make the dough, combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix and knead to make a supple, elastic dough. If you’re using a stand mixer, mix on low speed for three minutes to incorporate the ingredients, then on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until the dough looks fairly well developed.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a reusable cover and allow it to rise for 45 minutes.
Uncover the bowl and, using a bowl scraper or spatula, run the scraper or spatula down the inside far wall of the bowl. Bring the dough up from the bottom of the bowl and fold it over on top of itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat; repeat twice more (for a total of four times), turning the bowl 90 degrees each time. This process, which helps develop the dough, is called a fold. Re-cover the bowl and let the dough rise for another 45 minutes.
Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 10 pieces; each will weigh about 100 grams. Shape each piece into a rough log, cover and let rest for about 20 minutes; this rest will make the pretzels easier to shape.
To shape the pretzels, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into an 18- to 22-inch-long rope and shape it into a pretzel (see tips, below). Place shaped pretzels on a couple of lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets.
When all the pretzels have been shaped, cover them with lightly greased plastic wrap (or your favorite dough cover). If your kitchen is particularly warm, place the pans into the refrigerator immediately. Otherwise, let the pretzels rest and rise for about 30 minutes before refrigerating. It will take about 60 minutes for the pretzels to chill thoroughly.
While the pretzels are chilling, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the water bath by bringing the water and baking soda to a boil in a wide pot.
To boil the pretzels: Put three or four pretzels at a time into the boiling water and cook for one minute without turning over. Transfer boiled pretzels back to their baking sheets. Using a sharp knife or lame, slash each pretzel horizontally across its base.
Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse sea salt, kosher salt, or pretzel salt, if desired. To bake the pretzels: Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the pretzels are well-browned. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.
Store any leftover pretzels, well-wrapped, for up to three days on the counter; freeze for longer storage.
