Soft Cinnamon Raisin Pretzel With 2 Toppings Recipes

CINNAMON-RAISIN SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in brown sugar and salt. Add cake flour; stir well. Add enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. Stir in raisins. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until dough has risen slightly, about 30 minutes. Punch dough down; divide into 14 balls. Roll each ball into a 15-in. rope., In a bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water. Dip each rope in baking soda mixture; drain on paper towels. Form into pretzel shapes and place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. , Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush pretzels with butter, then dip in cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm.

KIDS CAN MAKE: HEALTHY CINNAMON-RAISIN SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees F), butter pieces and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Whisk together the flour, raisins, 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a large bowl.
• Add half the flour mixture to the yeast, and mix on low speed until incorporated, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour, increase the speed to medium and continue to beat until the dough gathers around the hook and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Once this happens, continue to beat until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes more. Remove the dough ball, butter the inside of the bowl, return the dough ball to the bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Position 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and spray generously with cooking spray. Punch down the dough, and cut it in half. Divide each half into twelve even pieces, and cover with a towel.
• Roll each piece of dough into an 18-inch rope, working from the middle out. (It helps to hold the dough ends and slap the center of the length on the counter as you stretch and roll.) Make a U shape with one of the dough ropes, lift the ends and twist in the center twice; fold the ends over and down, and pinch to secure them to the bottom of the U to finish the pretzel shape. Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature until the pretzels rise slightly, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine 10 cups water and the baking soda in a large, wide pot, and bring to a low simmer (190 to 200 degrees F), whisking until the baking soda dissolves. Stir together the granulated sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Cut the parchment paper with scissors around each pretzel. Leaving the pretzel on the paper (so it keeps its shape while transporting to the simmering water), remove the pretzels from the baking sheets. Reline each baking sheet with parchment, and spray generously with cooking spray.
• Put each pretzel, top-down, into the simmering water, and remove the paper. Simmer until the pretzels plump, about 1 minute. Carefully flip the pretzels, and continue to simmer 45 seconds more. Remove each with a slotted spoon, shake off excess liquid, place on the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with some of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Bake the pretzels until they're a few shades darker and the bottoms are nicely browned, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating about halfway through. Brush with the melted butter.
• Store the pretzels at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze them for up to 1 month (let thaw at room temperature).

SOFT PRETZEL RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Set aside two baking sheets covered in parchment paper or a silpat mat.
• Make the Dough: In a large bowl (or the bowl of stand mixer), combine the warm water, yeast, and honey. Stir and let sit for 1 minute. The yeast should be foamy. (If it is not, the yeast did not activate properly and this step must be repeated). Stir in the kosher salt.
• With a wooden spoon (or the mixer's paddle attachment), slowly stir in 2 cups of the white whole wheat flour and the all-purpose flour.
• Continue to stir in the remaining 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour, a few tablespoons at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky and bounces back when poked. (I used nearly 8 tablespoons, or the full 1/2 cups, but the amount you need may vary based on your flour brand, the moisture in the air, or what mood the flour is in that day). Stir in any desired mix-ins (they will continue to incorporate as you knead the dough).
• With the dough hook, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Lightly coat a clean bowl with nonstick spray. Place the dough into the bowl, turn to coat the dough on all sides with the spray, then cover and let dough rise for 30 minutes.
• Once dough has puffed, lightly flour a knife or bench scraper and cut the dough into 4 equal parts. Then, cut those 4 parts into 2 parts each.
• Gently roll each piece of dough into a thin rope of even diameter on a lightly floured surface (the longer the rope, the larger your pretzel will be and it will have more of a classic pretzel "chew." Thicker ropes will yield fluffy, bread-like pretzels that are more soft and puffy. I rolled mine to be 16 inches.) To form the pretzel, lay the rope horizontally, then pick up each end and draw them upwards as if you were forming a circle, cross the ends, then draw them down to form a pretzel shape. Lightly press the dough ends of the rope to hold the shape.
• In a shallow bowl or pie dish, beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of water to create an egg wash. Dip each entire pretzel into the egg wash and coat both sides. Place each pretzel on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, Watch closely to prevent burning. Let cool slightly.
• Brush the warm pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle with desired toppings. Enjoy!

CINNAMON RAISIN SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, stir in brown sugar and salt -- add cake flour and stir well.
• add enough all purpose flour to form a soft dough.
• stir in raisins, turn onto floured surface.
• knead till smooth -- about 6-8 minutes.
• place in a greased bowl, turn to grease top.
• cover and let rise at least 40 minutes --
• punch dough down.divide into 14 balls.
• roll each ball into a 15" long rope.
• dissolve baking soda in hot water --
• dip each rope in baking soda water and drain on paper towels.
• form into pretzel shapes, place on greased sheets.
• bake at 400* for 15 minutes --
• combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon, brush pretzels with the three tablespoons of butter and dip in cinnamon sugar mixture.