How to Bake Pretzel Rods

Yields: 24 pretzels

Preparation time: over 2 hours

Cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients needed to make Pretzel Rods:

For the pretzels:

• 1 ½ cups bread flour
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• Vegetable oil, for greasing

For the poaching liquid:

• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 quarts water
• ½ cup baking soda

For the topping:

• 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp water

Cooking instructions for Pretzel Rods:

• To make the pretzels, mix the flours together and stir in sugar, yeast and a dash of salt.
• Pour the water in a steady stream and work them together with your fingers, until they gather together to form a flaky dough.
• Place it into a working surface, dusted previously with flour and punch it down for about 5 minutes or until it turns soft and smooth.
• Grease a large bowl with few drops of oil and transfer the dough into it.
• Roll the dough along the sides of the bowl to oil lightly and wrap it up with a plastic sheet.
• Allow to rest for an hour or until rises to become double its size.
• Spread sheets of parchment paper across a couple of baking sheets and set aside.
• Split the dough into 24 parts and roll each portion into a 9’’ long, thin strip.
• Arrange the ropes on the baking sheets, spaced an inch apart and place a plastic wrap loosely on top; set aside for another hour to let it rise again.
• Warm up your oven to 375 degrees F .
• Empty 8 cups of water into a large saucepan and bring it to a simmer over moderate heat.
• Stir in the brown sugar as well as the baking soda until they dissolve completely and the mixture froths up slightly.
• Working in batches, lower the dough strips gently into the hot water and cook them for half a minute.
• Drain them out, using a metal skimmer and arrange them again on the baking sheets.
• Crack the egg into a separate bowl and whisk it along with a splash of water to prepare the egg wash.
• Brush it all over the dough ropes and dust them with coarse salt.
• Bake the pretzels in the oven for half an hour or until they turn dark golden brown and are baked through.
• Arrange them on a wire rack and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Stuff them in an airtight jar and store at room temperature for as long as a week.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons