Get stuffed!

Updated: Mar 21, 2021

In my opinion the big bread pretzels are far superior to the small, hard, snack-pretzels you can get. Whether that is because the latter reminds me of aeroplanes and the associated food, or whether it’s just because I love bread, I can’t say. I’m always an advocate for a soft loaf with a chewy crust so pretzels are an obvious win! I was actually quite surprised at just how well these turned out, they were one of the most delicious things I have made and went down a treat with my housemates. The crust is chewy, but not tough and encases a super-soft white bread stuffed with a cheesy mixture of mozzarella, parmesan, and red pesto. I can’t imagine a situation where these won’t go down well and if you are baking for kids then these will be a definite hit with their delicious taste that is slightly reminiscent of pizza!

The recipe itself is not very challenging however it is a little different from normal bread baking when you get to the cooking stage. To ensure a chewy crust you need to boil your shaped dough in water with bicarbonate of soda added for about a minute before transferring to the oven. Apart from this it is very similar to a standard bread recipe with the kneading, proving and shaping stages. It will take you between 2.5-3 hours to bake and about 10 mins for them all to be eaten! Which may be annoying but you will just have to take it as high praise! I chose to stuff these with a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella so the end result is a soft filling with a strong cheese flavour, alongside some red pesto to add a nice tomato-y taste however you can really stuff these with whatever you like, just ensure that the mixture isn’t too wet before you fill them.

Also, when shaping try to get the dough as long as possible. You can see here that mine were not quite long enough to make the classic pretzel shape as it closes up as it rises in the water/oven.

As usual I have added step-by-step photos where appropriate and a little video on how I shaped them.

Happy baking! X

Recipe

Makes: 6-8 large pretzels Prep time: 2-2.5 hours Baking time: 25 mins

Ingredients

For the dough

300 ml warm water

20g sugar

10 g dried yeast

580 g plain flour

2 tsp salt (~7 g)

For the filling

25 g grated Parmesan

1 packet mozzarella

2tbsp red pesto

Salt and pepper

To finish

Melted butter to brush

Oregano

Rock salt

Grated Parmesan

For cooking

1 litre boiling water

50 g bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Put your yeast and sugar in the warm water, stir and leave for 5 mins until foaming.

2. Mix your flour and salt together in a mixing bowl and stir in the yeast when ready.

3. Bring the dough together and turn out onto a floured work surface.

4. Knead the dough for 15 mins until smooth and elastic. Sprinkle a little flour in the mixing bowl, put the dough back in it and cover. Leave to rise for about an hour.

5. During the prove you can mix all the ingredients for your filling together in a bowl and set aside.

6. Nearing the end of the proving stage you can turn your oven on to 220°C/428 F to pre-heat and put a large pan of water on to boil.

7. Turn your dough out onto your work surface and knock back. Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces.

8. Flatten out a section of the dough and put 2 tsp of mixture in the middle. Fold the dough around it to encase and squeeze it into a long sausage-shape.

9. To shape, turn the ends up into a U-shape and twist around one another towards the ‘closed’ part of the loop. Tuck the ends through the holes on either side to keep it in that shape (see video).

10. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the boiling water (be careful as it will bubble up rapidly so best to add a little at a time).

11. Put your pretzels in the boiling water, one at a time, for 30 seconds each side.

12. Use a slotted spoon to transfer from the water to a lined baking tray and repeat for the other pretzels.

13. Using a pastry brush, brush with melted butter and sprinkle more cheese, some oregano and rock salt over each pretzel.

14. Bake in the oven for 25 mins. If you have done 8 pretzels rather than 6, I would recommend checking after 15-20 mins and seeing if they are ready.

15. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little before tucking in.