Soft Pretzels with Beer

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 20

Resting Time: 1

Total Time: 1 40

Author: Susan

Calories: 346kcal

Servings: pretzels

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Warm, soft pretzels are the ultimate comfort food. Make for game day, weekends, or anytime you want this delicious treat. Goes perfectly with beer cheese dip!

Equipment

1 stand mixer or you can knead by hand
1 mixing bowl
2 baking sheets
2 Silpat mats or use parchment paper
1 large stock pot
1 slotted spoon

Ingredients

12 ounces beer I prefer Flensburger Pilsener, but try different ones to figure out what you like. If your beer is less than 12 ounces, make up the difference with water.
1 tablespoon white sugar
4 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
½ stick unsalted butter
4½ cups all purpose flour good to have a bit extra on hand in case dough is too moist
⅔ cup baking soda
1 egg yolk only
1 teaspoon vegetable oil for bowl

Instructions

Heat beer in a small saucepan until it's temperature is about 115° Farenheit.
In your stand mixer's bowl, gently combine beer, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt. Sprinkle packet of yeast on top and let it sit for 5 minutes. The yeast will work best if you haven't created a lot of head (foam) when you pour in the beer.
Add the melted butter and 4½ cups of flour. Place the bowl on the stand mixer and mix at medium-low speed until combined, using the dough hook attachment.
Turn the mixer speed up to medium speed, and knead the dough for 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can knead by hand for 15-20 minutes.
If the dough is too wet, add 1-2 tablespoons additional flour. The dough should not stick to the sides of the bowl.
Coat the inside of a mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or cooking spray, and move dough to this bowl. Roll the dough around to coat it in the oil.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and/or a kitchen towel and place in a warm location to rise. Wait one hour, and dough should have roughly doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Fill your stock pot with 10 cups of water. Add ⅔ cup baking soda, stir, and bring to a boil over high heat on your stovetop.
While waiting for the water to boil and the oven to heat, divide your dough into 8 pieces if making pretzels. You can also make pretzel sticks or pretzel bites, in which case you'd divide the dough according to the size/quantity you want to make.
Roll each portion of dough into a 2-foot long rope. Shape into a pretzel.
When water and baking soda is boiling, gently place each pretzel, two at a time, into the pot. Boil for 30-40 seconds each, then remove with a slotted spoon and place on a Silpat-mat lined baking sheet. Continue with all pretzels. (I end up putting 4 on each baking sheet.)
Combine the yolk of one egg with one tablespoon water. Brush over the top of each pretzel, then sprinkle the remaining kosher salt over each one.
Bake at 425°F for 14-15 minutes until browned.
Serve while warm, with beer cheese dipping sauce if desired.

Notes

The step for boiling the pretzels in a baking soda and water mixture is what gives them their nice shiny brown sheen. If you don't have baking soda, you can omit this step and it will still taste good; they just won't be as pretty or as slick.

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