On Monday, I got a great soft pretzel recipe in my inbox from Brown Eyed Baker. Who can resist this delicious looking picture? Based on the photos alone, I decided to put my pretzel-making anxiety aside and try it at home.
(c) Brown Eyed Baker
Big. Mistake. I have no idea where it went wrong, but somewhere along the line I botched this batch. I get the feeling it was the baking soda boil that made the pretzels taste awful. Actually, that’s not entirely true. There were bursts of deliciousness, but the grossness so outweighed the delicious bursts that I just couldn’t risk eating another pretzel that tasted like aspirin. Yuck.
In the spirit of failure though, I’m linking to the original recipe. Maybe you’ll have better luck than I did and if so, please post. I’m on to try another recipe.
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I hate when things like that happen! I made soft pretzels a few weeks ago using a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. They were super easy, done in a half hour, and they turned out great. If you ever want to give it another shot, you could try that recipe, my post is here: http://elisebakes.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/homemade-soft-pretzels/
Thanks for stopping by and for the recipe. I’ll definitely give it a try since it eliminates the whole ‘boiling in baking soda’ step.
Hey Deauna,
Sorry to hear about this! I was so excited you were making these….Here’s a link to the recipe we’ve always used: http://www.marthastewart.com/339013/soft-pretzels (The printed recipe I have is a copy from her magazine years ago; it says 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast (which is one 1/4-ounce envelope) and that’s the amount we’ve always used. I noticed Martha’s online recipe says one teasp., so I’m thinking its a typo online……Anyway,compare your recipeand Martha’s–not too different but there’s a big difference in the amount of baking soda yours called for (2/3 cup vs. 2 TBLSP) so maybe that’s the aspirin like taste…?
Sorry, I don’t know enough cooking science to figure out why, but I can tell you that we’ve made this one many times and it’s always turned out. The only thing I’d like to try to add someday is something that makes them turn darker brown, more like the commercial pretzels. (These can be a little pale, but still tasty!)
I hope this helps–let me know how it goes for you!!
Colleen
Thanks, Colleen. I’m going to have to try that recipe and let you know if it’s user or recipe error.
I read in my exhaustive search that the alkalinity in the baking soda is what gives it the flavor and color. I’d like to maintain that if possible. I thought my recipe called for a lot, but then again I’d never made them before so I figured the pros would know best.