42 OCTOBER 2021 | TheJournalNJ.com
Let’s Talk About
Pretzels
BY MARYANN MIANO
Feeling stressed these days? Burdened by your troubles, the news,
life in general? Don’t get yourself twisted in a knot. Break out some
dough and twist it into pretzels! It’s therapeutic, it is fun to make, delicious
to eat, and is a perfect snack with a stein of beer for an Oktoberfest
celebration this month.
1810 for the wedding of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig, who became
King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festiv-
Oktoberfest in Munich is a time for fun and laughter, with most everyone
dressed in traditional Bavarian garb. The men can be seen in their
blouse, a skirt and an apron).
Among some of the traditional foods eaten during this festival are
Knodel (German soft pancakes), wurstl (sausages), roast chicken, roast
pork, sauerkraut, kasespatzle (cheese noodles), and of course, tasty local
beer and “brezen” or pretzels.
Pretzels are made out of a bread dough by rolling out the dough into
a rope and twisting the rope so that the center is a loose knot. The pretzel
is boiled for a short period of time (this gives them a tuggy, delightfully
chewy texture) and then glazed with egg, salted and baked. It is typically
eaten as a snack.
Sadly, the Oktoberfest in Munich won’t be held this year due to the
pandemic. However, you can bring it to life in your own home. Try baking
giant, soft, chewy pretzels to cheer you up and make your own Oktoberfest
festival in your home. Here’s a recipe to get you started.
SOFT PRETZELS
INGREDIENTS
•
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 ½ cups milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 quarts boiling water
• 1 slightly beaten egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• Sesame seed, poppy seed, or coarse salt
DIRECTIONS
1.
yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, sugar,
oil and the 1 teaspoon salt until warm (120° to 130°). Add milk
mixture to the dry mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to
medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping side of bowl constantly.
Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in
2.
smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape the dough into a
ball. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease
surface. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (about
1 ¼ hours).
3.
Cover dough; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease
baking sheets; set aside.
4. Roll dough into a 12 x 10” rectangle. Cut into twenty 12 x ½”
strips. Gently pull each strip into a 16” long rope. Shape ropes
into pretzels: – About 4” from each end of a rope, cross one end
over the other. Twist once at the crossover point. Fold ends up over
the edge of circle. Moisten ends; tuck them under bottom edge of
circle. Press to seal.
5. Carefully place pretzels on prepared baking sheets. Bake in a
475° oven for 4 minutes. Remove pretzels from oven. Reduce the
oven temperature to 350°.
6. Dissolve the 2 tablespoons of salt in the boiling water. Lower pretzels
3 or 4 at a time, into boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes, turning
once. Using a slotted spoon, remove pretzels from water; drain on
paper towels. Let stand a few seconds. Grease baking sheets well.
Place pretzels about ½” apart on the prepared baking sheets.
7. In a small mixing bowl, stir together egg white and the 1 tablespoon
water. Brush pretzels with some of the egg white mixture.
Sprinkle pretzels lightly with sesame seed, poppy seed or coarse
salt. Bake in the 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.
/TheJournalNJ.com