Our allergy-friendly soft pretzel recipe will have you "twisting" with joy!
Prep Time: 60 minutes total, 30 minutes inactive
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Makes: 5 palm-sized pretzels
Allergy Friendly + Gluten Free + Vegan - Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 envelope active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (a little warmer than body temperature, 95 to 105 degrees F)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon agave syrup, honey, or apple syrup
1 egg or egg replacer equivalent
rice bran oil or allergy-friendly butter, to brush
1/3 cup baking soda
coarse sea salt, to finish
How-To
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for five minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add half the flour-salt mixture to the yeast mixture, with the egg and honey, and blend on low speed with a paddle attachment until well combined.
Add the remainder of the flour-salt mixture, and mix until combined. You should have a dough that's just lightly sticky, and not dry. It should be rollable and moldable. You may need more flour, depending on the humidity of your environment.
On a very lightly floured work table, divide the dough into five equal pieces. Very carefully and lightly roll the dough into ropes about 6 inches long, then twist into a pretzel shape. Using a spatula, carefully transfer from the work station to a parchment lined sheet tray.
Brush each pretzel heavily with rice bran oil or melted allergy-friendly butter. Cover lightly with a damp cloth and place in a warm spot (70 - 75 degrees F) to rest and proof for 30 minutes.
While the dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
In a pot on the stove, bring 5 cups of water to a boil, and add the baking soda. Stir to ensure the baking soda is dissolved completely. When the soda bath is boiling, gently place the pretzels in the bath, boiling for 25 seconds. Flip them and boil for another 10 seconds. Remove from the pot using a slotted spoon or spatula, and drain as much water as you can. Place on a parchment lined baking tray.
Brush each pretzel heavily with the melted butter replacer, and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown.
Serve pretzels immediately out of the oven. If you prefer to save them for another time, cool completely, wrap tightly, and freeze. When you're ready to eat, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F, and bake on a parchment lined sheet tray until crisp, warm throughout, and golden brown.