Soft Sourdough Beer Pretzels
Between the tangy sourdough discard and dark beer, these buttery soft and chewy beer pretzels taste just as good as the beer you're drinking along with them.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 113 grams 100% hydration sourdough starter (or discard)
- 113 grams Beer
- 280 grams All-purpose flour
- 28 grams unsalted butter
- 3 grams instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use half as much of another brand)
- 1 large egg
- pretzel salt (for finishing)
Boiling solution
- 5 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda
Instructions
- Combine sourdough starter and beer in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add melted butter, followed by flour and yeast. Mix with a wooden spoon, dough hook, or your hands, until a shaggy dough forms. It will seem very dry and lumpy. Cover and rest 10 minutes.
- While the dough rests, mix 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Mix to dissolve the salt.
- After 10 minutes, drizzle the salt water over the dough and use your hand in a pinching motion to squeeze and fold the salt into the dough until it's completely incorporated.
- Attach the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead on low until the dough forms a messy ball around the hook, then increase speed to just below medium and knead 4-5 minutes until smooth and soft.
- Shape the dough into a ball by folding the dough over itself and tucking the ends under so you have a smooth surface on top. Place dough back in the bowl, cover, and let rest 45-60 minutes in a warm spot until just about doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- When the hour is almost up, whisk together 5 cups of water and ⅓ cup baking soda in a wide, high-sided skillet. Bring to a low boil. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
- Divide dough in 6 equal pieces using a kitchen scale for precision (they should be around 94 grams each).
- Pre-shape the pretzel dough: Working one piece at a time, flatten the dough against the counter into a long horizontal vaguely rectangular shape (its okay if its more of a lopsided oval). Fold the top third down over the center, press to seal. Fold forward again, press to seal. Repeat until the dough is rolled up and the seam is against the counter. Cover the pre-shaped dough logs with a damp paper towel until ready to roll.
- Shape the pretzels: Roll the first log of dough into a 30" rope. Bend the rope into a U-shape, cross the ends over each other a few times, then fold the twist down and press the ends of each rope down on the bottom curve of the U in a classic pretzel shape. Repeat until all pretzels are shaped.
- Boil pretzels in baking soda solution for 45 seconds. Remove to prepared sheet pan.
- Brush boiled pretzels with egg wash and top with pretzel salt. Bake 12-14 minutes at 450°F until deeply golden brown.
- Let cool on sheet pan for 5 minutes, then remove to rack to finish cooling.
Video
RECIPE NOTES
- Recipe adapted from Cookie Madness
- If you only have active dry yeast, increase the amount to 4 grams and stir it in with the starter and beer. Give it 3-5 minutes to hydrate before you add the flour and butter.
- If the pretzel ends come unstuck from the curve of the U in the baking soda bath, don't panic. Just brush a little egg wash under them and stick them down again before baking.
- Refer back to the blog post for shaping, boiling, and baking instructions for other pretzel shapes.
YOUR NOTES
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let me how it was!