Garlic Parmesan Soft Pretzels

Please welcome the lovely Rachael from Eazy Peazy Mealz! She’s here to share this mouthwatering Garlic Parmesan Soft Pretzel recipe with you and will be sharing a new recipe every month. Please give her a warm welcome! -Tessa

I don’t know about you guys, but there is just something about a soft pretzel that takes me straight to a sporting stadium. Usually baseball, but really it could be any stadium. I am kind of a “Go Sports!” “Yay Team!” kind of girl. I like sports, but mostly participating in them. But one thing I LOVE is the food associated with sports. If I hear the word “meatballs” I immediately think “Tailgating”. I love a good game day spread. Tailgating, carbs, and the smell of stadium hot dogs, popcorn, and my all-time-favorite: Soft Pretzels!

My husband on the other hand can’t get enough sports, and my son follows right in his footsteps. I constantly get to hear the ESPN updates, and random facts about this player or that. I made the mistake of letting my son install the ESPN app to his iPod and so every time he gets a notification, I get a very excited boy telling me whatever it was he just read from the screen. The upside is, he is reading…A LOT!

But anyway, I like sports, I LOVE food. And soft pretzels rate pretty high on my list. There is just something so good about a nice crispy outside, and a pillowy soft inside, with the tang of salt, and the various dipping sauces that makes my mouth water! I typically go for the sweet over the savory, so when I was making these soft pretzels I made a few different versions, one with cinnamon and sugar. But I kept coming back to the idea of a garlic parmesan pretzel. It just sounded so good. And so I went to work, and these beauties were the result!

I like to make my soft pretzels a little smaller than what you would find at the stadium. I have kids, and thought these would be a fun after school snack, but didn’t want them to be too full for dinner. So I divided my dough into 12 evenly sized balls (You can use a kitchen scale to make sure they are exact), and rolled them out!

My whole family loved them, and I hope you will too.

Don’t they just look so great? Well here are a few tips to help you get great results:

1. Knead: You need to knead. This lets the gluten develop, which in turns helps them be stretchy and elastic so you can get a nice pretzel shape.
2. Baking Soda Bath: Don’t be afraid of this step. It is really easy, and makes a big difference in getting that crispy outside with the soft inside. Just remember to do them one at a time.
3. Egg wash: This helps them brown up. Don’t skip it!

Bonus: Brush them with melted butter after removing from oven for even more delicious flavor!

If you love soft pretzels as much as I do, be sure to check out these Sun Dried Tomato and Cheese Stuffed Soft Pretzel.

How to make

Garlic Parmesan Soft Pretzels

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Buttery, savory, garlic parmesan soft pretzels that are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. These pretzels offer sophisticated flavor in a fun game-day form!

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 4-4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) melted butter
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup Johnny's Garlic Spread and Seasoning (*or use 1 1/2 Tbs garlic salt)
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Baking Soda Bath

• 9 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda

Egg Wash

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Salt for garnish (Large crystals)

Directions

1. Combine water, sugar, salt, and active dry yeast in a stand mixer
2. Let yeast proof by letting it stand for about 5 minutes. When it starts to foam, move to next step.
3. Using a kneading hook attachment, turn your mixer on, and slowly add flour, corn starch, and melted butter a little at a time.
4. Mix on low to combine ingredients.
5. Add in parmesan cheese and garlic spread and let combine
6. Increase to medium speed, and knead for 5-7 minutes, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Kneading allows the gluten to develop, so do not skip this step.
7. Remove from bowl, put a little oil in bowl, and put dough back in, cover, and let rise until double in size.
8. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
9. Line sheet with parchment paper
10. Bring 9 cups of water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot.
11. Divide dough into 12 even balls, and form into pretzel twists
12. Once water is boiling, place each twist, one at a time, into boiling water for 30 seconds.
13. Remove, and put on cookie sheet, about an inch or so apart, and continue until all pretzels have had a water bath.
14. Beat egg yolk and water together and brush over top of pretzels with a pastry brush
15. Sprinkle with large crystal salt and bake 13-17 minutes until golden brown.
16. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve.

Recipe Notes

Rachael Yerkes at Eazy Peazy Mealz

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with #handletheheat so we can all see!

Recipe by Rachael Yerkes