Pretzel Crust Recipe | Julie Blanner (2024)

FAQs

Why does my pretzel crust fell apart? ›

Make sure your pretzels are crushed finely – it's best to do this in a food processor. If they are not fine the crust won't hold together. Also be sure to use FRESH pretzels!

Avoid over-kneading by kneading your dough by hand

Overworked dough will feet wet and sticky, and it will ruin the overall quality of your baked good. Most people over-knead their dough because they left it in the mixer for too long. An easy way to avoid this is to simply knead your dough by hand.

The prepared pretzel dough can be refrigerated for up to one day or frozen in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight.

If your pie dough breaks and crumbles when you try to roll it out, it's probably too dry. This is a relatively easy fix. Just sprinkle some cold water over the dough with your fingers and work it in—gently! —until the dough comes together.

If it's too crumbly, add a little more water. Once your pastry has come together, don't then ruin it when rolling it out. It's always tempting to shovel loads of flour onto a work surface when rolling out pastry.

Specifically, under-proofed dough creates dense pretzels, while over-proofed dough can cause them to expand and then collapse.

The boiling water + baking soda is important for color and texture of pretzel. Baking soda raises pH, thus creating a basic solution. This help the browning process during baking, which will occur more in basic pH. Thus, producing the desired flavor and brown color of pretzel.

Bread flour provides more structure

Gluten helps provide structure, allowing a baked good to have more body and sturdiness. As a result, bread flour will make it easier for a pretzel to hold its shape. This can be an advantage to beginner bakers, especially since the shape of a pretzel is so important.

Soft pretzels are just a yeast bread is that formed into a pretzel shape. The one big difference in pretzel making, as opposed to a regular bread, is that pretzels are boiled and then baked. It is the boiling that gives the outside of the pretzel its beautiful golden brown color and uniquely crisp and chewy texture.

Your pretzel dough should be tacky but not overly sticky. If it is sticky to the point it is sticking to your fingers, then knead a little longer or knead a little more flour into the dough.

How do you make pretzel dough rise faster? ›

Place the covered dough near, but not on, the preheated oven. Some cleared off counter space right next to the oven will work. The heat coming from the oven will speed up the rising process. Let the dough rise until it's doubled in size.

Malt Syrup (the kind used for beer) and dipping them in a hot alkaline solution (baking soda or food grade lye and hot water) after baking for about 20–30 seconds gives a pretzel its characteristic flavor and distinctive brown coloring. The alkaline solution is a big contributor to the pretzel flavor.

Let the dough rise: Clean out the bowl, film it with oil, and return the dough to the bowl. Cover and let rise somewhere warm until the dough is doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. → Make Ahead Tip: At this point, the pretzel dough can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for three months.

If desired, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking in step 7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm with spicy nacho cheese sauce. Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Any number of things can contribute to a slumping crust. Maybe your recipe uses an extra-high amount of shortening or butter, or you rolled the crust too vigorously, or you didn't let it rest and chill before baking. Perhaps you used the wrong size pan, or not enough filling.

Most likely is that the pastry is stretched too much as it is rolled. Don't try to roll pastry dough straight from the fridge as it will be very solid. Let it soften at room temperature for about 20 minutes before rolling and roll on a lightly floured surface or between pieces of baking parchment (parchment paper).

There are a few reasons your pastry might crack: You haven't let the dough rest. The dough is not chilled. The dough is too cold.