Homemade Soft Pretzels

Happy New Year. I lasted until midnight this time, barely. Kevin and I were at the bar on Water Street, squeezed into a corner, shouting over the music. At midnight, confetti fell and strangers hugged and I drank a champagne toast with a plastic cup and thought: 2017. I'm twenty. I have a job I love, a family I love, and I can make French onion soup. Not a bad place to start a year. New Year's resolutions, which I've never made before but feel compelled to make now: 1. Cook at least three meals a week from scratch (not counting cereal) 2. Learn five of Babcia's recipes by heart 3. Get a raise at the brewery 4. Tell the people I love that I love them more often That last one is the hardest. Kowalski men don't say it. But I'm starting to think Kowalski men should. The first week of January in Milwaukee is always brutal. Sub-zero wind chills, gray skies, snow that's been on the ground since November turning into dirty brown mush. The brewery is warm, at least — steam from the tanks keeps the floor at seventy degrees even when it's negative ten outside. I've started thinking of the brewing floor as a cocoon. I made my first meal of the year on Tuesday: a big batch of kielbasa and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes. Babcia's comfort food, simplified. The kielbasa was from Kulig's (I'm loyal to Babcia's butcher now). I simmered it with the sauerkraut in a little beer and it was exactly what a negative-ten-degree night needed. Hockey's in the offseason after our championship. I miss it already. I'm running on a treadmill at the gym instead, which is hockey's sad, boring cousin. Sunday at Babcia's: she made a pork and sauerkraut stew that's her traditional New Year's dish. She says sauerkraut on New Year's brings good luck. "The more sauerkraut, the more luck," she says. I ate three servings. I should be the luckiest man in Wisconsin.

Babcia’s kielbasa and pork stew set the tone for the whole week — hearty, warming, the kind of food that earns its place on a negative-ten-degree night. But resolution number one means cooking from scratch at least three times a week, and after days of breathing in the warm, yeasty air on the brewery floor, I came home Tuesday wanting to make something that smelled exactly like that. Homemade soft pretzels — baking soda bath and all — turned out to be the answer. They’re the kind of project that takes just enough effort to feel like an accomplishment, and they make the apartment smell like the best part of my job.

Prep Time: 20 min + 1 hr rise | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 1 hr 35 min | Servings: 8 pretzels

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110°F)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one standard packet)
1 tsp granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 tsp fine salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
10 cups water (for the baking soda bath)
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg, beaten
Coarse or flaky sea salt, for topping

Instructions

Activate the yeast. Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Stir gently and let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is foamy and fragrant. If it doesn’t foam, your yeast may be expired — start over with a fresh packet.
Make the dough. Add flour, fine salt, and melted butter to the yeast mixture. Mix on low with a dough hook (or stir with a wooden spoon) until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on medium for 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky. Adjust with flour one tablespoon at a time if needed.
Let it rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, until roughly doubled in size.
Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly grease the parchment. In a large, wide pot, bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil — this is your baking soda bath, which gives soft pretzels their distinctive chewy crust and deep color.
Shape the pretzels. Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 22–24 inches long, keeping the center slightly thicker than the ends. Form each rope into a U shape, cross the ends over each other twice to twist, then fold the twisted ends down onto the bottom curve of the U and press to seal. Place shaped pretzels on the prepared baking sheets.
Baking soda bath. Once the water is at a full boil, carefully lower one or two pretzels in at a time using a slotted spatula. Boil for exactly 30 seconds per side, then lift out and return to the baking sheet. Repeat with all pretzels. This step is non-negotiable for that classic soft pretzel texture.
Egg wash and salt. Brush each boiled pretzel generously with beaten egg, making sure to get into the folds. Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt.
Bake. Bake at 425°F for 12–15 minutes, until deep golden brown. Rotate the pans halfway through for even color. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before serving. Best eaten warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Homemade Soft Pretzels — Something to Show for a Night at the Brewery