Soft Sourdough Pretzels
Soft and chewy, these Sourdough Pretzels are addictive! Whether you're after a savoury or a sweet snack, something to dip into hummus or soup, this is a great base recipe for soft sourdough pretzels that works every time!
Ingredients
- 110 g active sourdough starter
- 150 ml warm water
- 240 g strong white bread flour
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda in the US)
- 2 l boiling water
- 1 egg white for brushing
- 2 tablespoon seeds or any other topping
Instructions
Day 1:
- First thing in the morning, feed your starter and leave to at least double for 4-6 hours. Go by how much your starter rises, rather than time indicated.
- Once your starter doubles, mix starter, water and half of the flour to a smooth batter and leave for an hour to autolyse.
- After an hour, mix in the rest of the flour, salt and sugar. In a stand mixer, or by hand, knead for 5 minutes until you arrive at a smooth dough.
- Grease a shallow dish with some oil. Pop your dough into the dish, cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm (ideally 20-24°C). For the next 3 hours, you will perform coil folds (see text above) every 30 minutes. After you'd done 6 sets of folds, leave the dough to prove for another hour. Then wrap with clingfilm and pop in the fridge overnight.
Day 2:
- Line a large baking sheet with paking parchment and brush the top of it with some oil.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and place onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. With a palm of your hand, roll each of the pieces into a long (45-50 cm) thin rope.
- Form a U shape with your rope. Twist the ends of the rope together and fold the twist over and rest on the centre of the U. Lift the pretzel by the two top loops and place on the prepared baking parchment. Repeat with the other 5 pretzels. Cover the pretzels with oiled cling film and leave in a warm spot for 1-2 hours.
- Boil approx 2 l of water, then add bicarbonate of soda. Preheat the oven to 230°C.
- Drop pretzels into a pan of simmering water (don't overcrowd the pan). And cook for 10 seconds before flipping them over carefully and cooking for another 10 seconds. Repeat with the rest of the pretzels. Pop the boiled ones back onto the oiled baking parchment.
- Brush the pretzels with some lightly beaten egg white. Sprinkle with seeds or other toppings that you're using. Then bake in the oven for 20 minutes until they're deep brown. Cool on the tray for at least 30 minutes before digging in!
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