Soft Pretzels with Grainy Mustard
Warm, chewy pretzels with a crispy salt crust served with spicy whole-grain mustard
- 2.25 tspactive dry yeast
- 1 cupwarm water (110°F)
- 1 tbspbrown sugar
- 3 cupall-purpose flour
- 1 tspkosher salt
- 2 tbspunsalted butter, softened
- 0.5 cupbaking soda
- 10 cupwater (for baking soda bath)
- 1 wholeegg yolk
- 1 tbspwater (for egg wash)
- 2 tbspcoarse pretzel salt or sea salt
- 0.5 cupwhole-grain mustard (for serving)
Shape pretzels up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerate before the baking soda bath. Dough can be made 24 hours ahead and refrigerated after the first rise. Reheat baked pretzels at 350°F for 5 minutes.
- 1Dissolve yeast and brown sugar in warm water (110°F) in a large bowl. Let sit 5 minutes until foamy.
- 2Combine flour and kosher salt. Add the yeast mixture and softened butter. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
- 3Knead dough for 8 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled.
- 4Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and grease lightly.
- 5Punch down dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each into a 20-inch rope on a clean surface.
- 6Shape each rope into a pretzel: form a U, cross the ends twice to create a twist, then fold the ends down to meet the bottom of the U and press lightly to adhere.
- 7Bring 10 cups water to a boil in a wide pot and carefully add baking soda (it will bubble). Reduce to a simmer. Poach each pretzel 30 seconds per side with a slotted spatula, then transfer to baking sheets.
- 8Whisk egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water. Brush each pretzel generously, then sprinkle with coarse salt.
- 9Bake 12 to 15 minutes until deep golden brown, rotating pans halfway through.
- 10Serve warm with whole-grain mustard. Best eaten within 1 hour of baking.
Baking soda bath is essential for that authentic dark, chewy crust. Don't skip the coarse salt - use pretzel salt or coarse sea salt. Serve within an hour of baking for best texture. The dipping sauce can be varied - try beer cheese or honey mustard for variety.
Soft pretzels were brought to North America by German-speaking immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania beginning in the late 17th century, when William Penn's colony became a destination for religious dissenters including Mennonites, Amish, and German Reformed Church members. The pretzel — from the Latin pretiola or the Old High German brezitella — is documented in German and Swiss monastic records from at least the 12th century. Legends attribute its distinctive shape (a loop with crossed arms) to an Italian or German monk who gave the twisted bread to children as a reward for learning prayers; the three holes were said to represent the Holy Trinity. The defining technique of the pretzel — dipping the formed dough in an alkaline solution (lye or baking soda) before baking — triggers the Maillard reaction at lower temperatures than normal baking, creating the characteristic deep mahogany surface and chewy-yet-crisp texture that makes a pretzel recognizable. Pennsylvania became the center of American pretzel production; the state today produces approximately 80% of the country's pretzels. Philadelphia street pretzel vendors, who sold soft pretzels from carts and street stands, established the tradition of eating warm soft pretzels with yellow mustard that persists to the present day. Beer cheese, the Kentucky invention of the 1930s–1940s, became the modern alternative to mustard.