By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

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Homemade soft pretzels
best fresh from the oven

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The soft pretzel, staple food of ball games and shopping excursions to the mall, is a good entry-level item for bakers just entering the world of yeast. This is good news for George Hirose, who e-mailed in search of a pretzel recipe that he could make at home.

Dozens of recipes are available on the Internet. They all are similar as far as ingredients go -- the difference is in the quality of the instructions. A couple of test batches yielded the formula that follows, which I think is idiot-proof.

The pretzels are crunchy on the outside; soft on the inside and taste like the real deal, especially hot out of the oven.

Although the ingredients and the procedure are fairly simple, this is not fast food. It takes more than an hour for the dough to rise, in two different steps. Then you form the pretzels, boil them, bake them and THEN you eat them. It's the boiling that defines the texture.

One note: Be careful of the water temperature when dissolving the yeast -- use a thermometer. Too hot, you'll kill the yeast; too cool, it won't work at all.

Now, as for presentation, you can form your dough into a pretzel shape, but that takes practice. I just made sticks. It all tastes the same.

Soft Pretzels

1 packet active dry yeast (scant tablespoon)
1 cup warm water (115 to 120 degrees -- NOT boiling)
2-3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or softened butter
4 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons coarse salt

Add yeast to warm water; let sit 5 minutes.

Combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast mixture and stir until well-combined. Add remaining 1-1/4 cups flour. Knead dough 3 minutes; form into a ball. Let sit 1 hour. Dough should double in size.

Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a ball (dust hands with flour to prevent sticking). Place balls on a cookie sheet or lightly floured surface. Let rest 15 minutes.

Roll each ball into a 16-inch length and form into a pretzel shapes. Or, divide each ball in half and roll each half into a 3-inch stick, about 3/4-inch wide. Let rest a few minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet. In a non-aluminum pot, bring remaining 4 cups water to a boil with baking soda.

Add pretzels to the boiling water in batches (do not crowd pot) and boil 1 minute, turning once. Shake off excess water. Place pretzels on cookie sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake 10 minutes, until golden brown. Best eaten right out of the oven. Makes 12 large pretzels or 24 sticks.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.