Last week I tried my hand at making soft pretzels for the first time. It proved to be a successful endeavor. I followed a recipe my mother had recommended to me (here) by Alton Brown (Good Eats, Iron Chef America). A big thanks to my roommates who contributed mad skillz and ingredients/kitchenaids.
The results: These pretzels were very tasty, but more akin to Superpretzels than traditional Philadelphia soft pretzels. They were great for dunking in this salsa con queso I had in the fridge, and my roommates and I made short order out of them. I will make them again, but definitely weren't what I would pick up on Sansom or Frankford Ave. Also, making designs w/ the dough would seem to be pretty easy. I might try spelling out stuff or different shapes in subsequent batches.
Things to work on: I definitely need to work on my pretzel twisting technique. Elizabeth helped me get down the rounder, more Superpretzel-type shape. But I would like to see if I can get the super fast, long Philadelphia traditional shape (like this). Also, I think these pretzels had too much butter and sugar, and I could use a heavier hand w/ the salt.
I think I am going to try another recipe tonight and report the results shortly.
