Soft Ball Pretzels

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Show: Paula's Home CookingEpisode: Ball Game

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (56)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(56)

Cook Time:
12 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
12 servings

Times:

Prep: 1 hr 30 min
Inactive Prep: 1 hr 20 min
Cook: 12 min
Total:: 3 hr 2 min

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Ingredients

1 cup warm water (about 98 degrees F)
1 package active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups water
5 teaspoons baking soda
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Kosher salt

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water and yeast. When the yeast dissolves, add half of the flour, the butter, salt, and sugar and mix for about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining flour. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is no longer sticky. Let the dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until it doubles in size, about 45 to 50 minutes. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into 18-inch long ropes. On a greased cookie sheet, shape each rope into a pretzel shape. Let rise again until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

In a large non-aluminum Dutch oven over high heat, bring 4 cups of water and baking soda to a boil. Using a large spoon, gently lower pretzels into water a few at a time and boil for about 1 minute, or until they float. Return the pretzels to the cookie sheet and brush with melted butter then sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake until browned, about 12 minutes. Serve hot with mustard.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Soft Ball Pretzels
Danielle Albion, WA 10-03-2009
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So Good!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Very yummy! Mine floated from the beginning too but I just flipped them half way and they were perfect! Oh and if you want... cinnamon and sugar on them you have to do it afterwards since at that temp for that long they'd burn every time.Read more
recipe Soft Ball Pretzels
Michelle Riverview, FL 06-06-2008
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OMG these are AMAZING!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

WOW! I will NEVER buy frozen pretzels ever again! I am a beginner cook and these came out awesome! One tip I would like to... recommend and maybe it's common sense for pro cooks but after boiling the pretzels make sure you drain them very well before putting back on the cookie sheet. After my pretzels were boiled I used some margarine mixed with a small amount of garlic and sea salt from a grinder. These pretzels came out light as air!!! Check your pretzels at about 7 minutes because mine were perfectly brown at 7 minutes. WTG Paula!Read more
recipe Soft Ball Pretzels
Anonymous 06-04-2008
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Problems
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

These pretzels did not turn out for me. When I baked them, I topped some with cinnamon and sugar and some with salt. The... toppings ended up burning before the pretzels were done. They also tasted bitter and really salty. Does anybody know what I did wrong?Read more
recipe Soft Ball Pretzels
EMILY Chandler, AZ 06-25-2007
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Yummy Yummy!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've made this recipe at least 10 times now, and we just love it! The only change I've made to it is using bread flour... instead of all-purpose, the pretzels are less delicate and hold their shape just a bit better. Our favorite preparation is to roll the dough out into strips and wrap around hot dogs for pretzel dogs that rival Auntie Anne's in the mall!Read more
recipe Soft Ball Pretzels
Anonymous 06-24-2007
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did not turn out correctly
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

This was a big mess! I question if 4 C of boiling water was enough. The pretzels floated right away and began to... disintegrate after 20 seconds or so. They were unrecognizable after boiling. I felt my time was wasted on this one. I work with yeast breads regularly, so I know I made the recipe properly, but the boiling bath was the downfall. I checked some other food network recipes for homemade soft pretzels and the boiling water was significantly more.Read more
recipe Soft Ball Pretzels
Anonymous 06-19-2007
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no "dutch oven"
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

i had absolutely no idea what Paula was talking about in the instructions where it talks about a non aluminum dutch oven. so... instead, i took all of the shapes i made from the dough (cutting them into about 1 inch long pieces were a big hit!), and put them in the oven. after about 6 minutes, i took a brush and melted butter, and covered all of the pretzels and pieces wth butter. 1-2 minutes later, i took the cookie sheet out and covered half of them with salt, and the rest with cinamon sugar. the cinamon sugar ones were liked the most, but they all got eaten and everyoen loved them!Read more