I have rigorously been testing the theory that eating large amounts of baked goods can protect you from COVID-19.
Okay so it’s not actually a theory and there is zero evidence of any effectiveness, but I am still committed to testing it at length. I have been dutifully baking and eating all manner of carbohydrates during this time.
I have made several loaves of bread, pretzel bites, cinnamon rolls (twice), several batches of cookies, breadsticks, rolls, and all sorts of other goodies. What can I say? Baking (and eating) are how I process stress.
But apparently I am not the only one, since yeast has been a real hot commodity these days! I finally found the jars of yeast at the store and snagged enough to get me through however long this pandemic lasts. We may run out of toilet paper and hand soap, but I’ll be damned if we’re going to run out of homemade baked goods.
If you’re lucky enough to get a hold of some yeast, you NEED to make these soft pretzels! I had no idea that making pretzels at home was so easy, and it is incredibly and dangerous knowledge. Not only are they easy, they are so insanely delicious. Nice and chewy outsides, soft and pillow insides… Oh yeah, baby.
I had to watch a youtube video to figure out how to twist a pretzel. It turns out, it’s easy! Lemme show you.
Roll your ball of dough into a long rope. About 18 inches. I mean, don’t get out a ruler or anything, just roll it out all long and skinny life.
Pull the snake into a U. Leaving 1-2 inches at the ends, twist the ends over each other twice.
Then, just pick up that twist and lay it down on the opposite side of the U.
Give it a lil pincheroo to make sure it stays there and doesn’t go wonky while baking.
Bake those babies up, and then slather them immediately in melted butter. Don’t be shy. Really go for it.
You have to try these, my friends! Come on… what else do you have to do? No seriously, what else are you doing? I need ideas.
Ingredients
Method
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Mix to combine. Add water and mix well, until the dough is smooth and clears the sides of the bowl. Slowly add more flour if needed, 2 tbsp at a time.
- Place a bit of flour into a gallon ziploc bag and place the dough inside the bag. Close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand. Let dough rise for 30-60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 500. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- On a clean and greased counter, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. In shallow dish, combine warm water and baking soda.
- Roll each ball of dough into a long rope- about 18 inches long. Twist the ends around each other twice, then fold over to make a pretzel (see pictures above.) Stir the baking soda/water mixture before each pretzel, and dunk each pretzel into the baking soda mixture. Place the pretzels on a baking sheet and let them rest for 10 minutes.
- Bake the pretzels, one baking sheet at a time, for 7-9 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Brush with melted butter immediately upon removing from the oven. Sprinkle with salt or dip in cinnamon sugar and enjoy immediately!
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