Pretzel Rolls - a test drive

It seems like pretzel bread is everywhere these days - maybe it was always there and I never noticed, but I'm noticing a lot more pretzel-based foods lately. Not that that's a bad thing. A good soft pretzel is pretty amazing. So here I am, part of the pretzel bread craze due to my husband, who is from the Philadelphia area. Apparently, Philly is known for its pretzels. This was news to me when we started dating, and now I've just accepted it. A Philly pretzel seems to me to be just a soft pretzel in a squished pretzel shape, and not unlike the Katie's pretzels I ate through high school. One of the great uses of the Philly pretzel, I'm told, is to make pretzel dogs. And so we are. Or at least, we will be.

Philly pretzels (from nj.com)

Pretzels were likely invented by German monks around 600 AD or so, although something this tasty was likely independently invented multiple times over. But we'll stick to the script - they were invented by German monks and their distinctive shape was meant to symbolize hands clasped in prayer. The word "pretzel" derives from a German word of Latin origin and means "bracelet" (which I learned from Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking). The Wikipedia article I just read said that pretzels are also significant within the Catholic Church, particularly during Lent, since they are made with simple ingredients and suitable for consumption during times of fasting. I think I missed that part in CCD. Regardless, the pretzel is certainly an important part of German baking - I've seen a bunch of cookie recipes for pretzel-shaped cookies - and there are a lot of German pretzel festivals. They're also supposed to be good luck for the New Year. I'm learning so much here.

The Philly pretzel, on the other hand, has only been around since the mid 1800s, and were introduced by German immigrant groups that came to be known as the Pennsylvania Dutch (here is a nice article if you're looking for more on Philly pretzels). No word on why the shape is so different; maybe it's just that Philadelphia is full of heathens. One thing remains the same - true soft pretzels are baked after being boiled in a mixture of water and baking soda (or lye), creating a Maillard reaction that gives the pretzels their distinctive chewy outer crust.

Adding baking soda to boiling water - before

And the after picture! Use a large pot for this.

Anyway, I made pretzel rolls a few weeks ago to great success using this recipe. They were nice and chewy on the outside, and delicious on the inside. And they were easy, too. The dough comes together quick, has two short rises, and is then boiled for a few seconds in a water / baking soda mixture before baked in the oven where they brown up quite nicely. They were delicious on the the day that I made them, and markedly less delicious the next day since they go stale pretty quickly. I mean, they were still good the next day, but man were they good the first day! They were so good, in fact, that they inspired Matt to suggest that I make them larger and bun-shaped and we use them to make pretzel dogs to celebrate the opening day of baseball later this month.

They've been boiled, egg washed, and salted.

Since he wants to invite people over for opening day pretzel dogs, I figured I'd better practice my pretzel-making first. The original recipe makes eight baseball-sized rolls - not quite big enough for a hot dog unless you cut it in half and then you lose the magic. Or so I've been told. I decided to try using the same recipe but making four longer rolls instead, figuring that a hot dog sized bun is probably the equivalent of two dinner rolls, right? That might be too much bread per sandwich, though, which is why I'm testing it out first. Also so I know how many I need to make when we have people over. Making the larger rolls from the smaller ones was pretty easy - I just boiled them a little longer and baked them for a few extra minutes to make sure they were cooked through. And I have to say, I think they might be a bit large. Maybe five hot-dog rolls per recipe would be a little better. But that's why we test it.

All done!

The plan is to make them into sandwiches tonight since we are not so into hot dogs that we'd want them twice in short succession. According to Matt, a traditional pretzel sandwich is a ham and cheese sandwich with honey mustard dressing on pretzel bread, wrapped in foil, and baked for a few minutes in a hot oven to get everything all melty and warm. That sounds pretty good to me, minus the ham part. I'll be subbing in a tomato. 

Dinner! That is a warm cheese and tomato sandwich on pretzel bread, and it is good!

Pretzel Rolls
from Smitten Kitchen 

2 3/4 cups bread flour
1 envelope yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp hot water (about 125 degrees)
cornmeal
8 cups water
1/4 cup baking soda
2 Tbsp. sugar
coarse salt
egg white, beaten to blend

Combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in large bowl. (The Smitten Kitchen recipe has you make the dough in a food processor. Mine isn't large enough to do that, so I mixed everything by hand. Takes a little longer, but the end result is still delish.) Gradually add the water and stir to form a smooth, elastic dough. Knead a few minutes. Grease a medium bowl, add dough to bowl, turning to coat dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp paper towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30 minutes if you use rapid rise yeast, or an hour if you use regular yeast).

Punch down dough and out onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, and divide into eight pieces (or five, if you're making hot dog rolls). Form each piece into a ball and flatten slightly. With a serrated knife, cut an X on the top of the roll (I just slashed mine). Cover and let rise until almost doubled in volume.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and sprinkle cornmeal on the parchment. Bring 8 cups water to boil in large pot. Add baking soda and the two tablespoons of sugar - the water will boil up, so make sure you're using a big pot. Place four rolls in the water and boil for 30 seconds. Flip over, and boil 30 seconds more. Using slotted spoon, remove rolls and place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining rolls. Brush egg white glaze on rolls and sprinkle on coarse salt.

Bake until brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool at least 10 minutes before eating. These are best the day they are made, but if you have leftovers, do not place them in a plastic bag as they'll end up a bit soggy. Keep them uncovered - they'll be a little stale, but still good.