This recipe has been in my family for at least 30 years, tried and true, and comes from my mom’s recipe file courtesy of Mrs. E. L-J. Somehow rainy days mean homemade pretzels and “pop” around here (that would be “soda” for you non-Midwesterners). With 4 kids within 5 years, I can see how my mom got into doing this to perk up the dreary days. This is super easy, and my girls love it!
Rainy Day Pretzels
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 pretzels 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 4 cups flour ( I use 3 cups white bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat)
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons yeast
Instructions
- Mix everything together in a stand mixer with the dough hook until smooth
- Divide into a golf ball sized portions.
- Roll and shape as you like. Brush with water and sprinkle with salt. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Let sit while the oven heats up to 425. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve with honey and mustard!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Enjoy with honey mustard!
with your pictures and fantastic food ideas, you're quickly becoming my favorite blog.
i'm saving this for our "rainy" days. although we live in the land of little rain–san diego–we'll still enjoy these in the sun.
There is nothing better than homemade pretzels. And I love that they are in their ballet costumes while rolling them out. It's a perfect photo of childhood!
Adorable kids, How fun making pretzel on rainy day with beautiful kids helping you. I love pretzel and never had a change to make it myself. You just give me an idea what make for my next weekly bread. One question, is it the hard kind of pretzel that you find in Germany?
No, these are soft and chewy like the crust of American pizza or breadsticks…and are not worth keeping around after the first day. I LOVE the hard pretzels in Germany and simit in Turkey, but my thought is that those require some slow rising with a wild (sourdough) starter…although I have starter somewhere in my fridge, the kids are not patient enough for an overnight rise!
I just did this recently with my son and his friend from next door. It looks like the girls had a lot of fun.
Is it just me, or are memories of those pretzels closely associated with memories of the Lloyd-Joneses? I really can't think of one without the other…but I don't know why.
You're right, I'm pretty sure the recipe is Lloyd-Jones in origin! Which reminds me, I need to track down their Whoopie Pie recipe!
This is awesome! Thank you!!
Your pretzels look awesome, looks like everyone's having lots of fun 😉
Here in western PA we have a good luck tradition of eating a sweet new year's day pretzel. Do you think I could make your soft pretzel recipe and just put a powdered sugar glaze over them when out of the oven to achieve the same kind of result?
This is an original recipe to give you the idea:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1818,159160-224192,00.html
Thanks for your opinion.
That sounds like a great tradition! This recipe actually comes from PA 🙂 Your recipe sounds really soft and buttery, like the mall-type pretzels. I'd add in 1/2 to 1 stick of dairy-free room-temp margarine or shortening to this recipe and maybe up the sugar to 1/4 cup to get that same texture and sweetness. Happy New Year!
Thanks for your advice.
Now I am confused. Are you telling Elizabeth to add those ingredients to your recipe or to the one that she references in the comments? I would like to try the “mall type” but do so dairy free. Thanks!
Hi Kim, Elizabeth was trying to make a sweet pretzel similar to the recipe she posted. I suggested she add the extra ingredients to my original recipe here. Gosh, I LOVE mall pretzels! What do they put into them that makes the entire mall smell so heavenly? I think making an allergy-friendly clone has to be on my to-do list!
Yasssss these were so good and fun to make!