Pretzel Recipe

Pretzel Dough: In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve the sugar and salt in the water. Add the fresh yeast in cubes (if you don't have it, you can use 1 packet of 8 grams of dry yeast) and let it rise if it's dry. Add the flour all at once, then the olive oil, and mix. Form a ball and finish kneading by hand or in your mixer, then let it rest for 1 hour (covered with a clean cloth at room temperature until the dough doubles in volume) or in a slightly preheated oven with a lid.

Once the dough has risen: Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape them into ropes 60 cm long. Form the pretzel by crossing the ends twice and then folding them down to the middle of the pretzel. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.

1st cooking: Heat the water with baking soda (it will foam) and as soon as it boils, dip the pretzels one by one (or two at a time) for 15 seconds on each side, then drain them on paper towels. Place the pretzels on a silicone baking mat (or lined with parchment paper). Brush the pretzels with a mixture of egg yolk and water, and then sprinkle them with coarse salt. For a sweet version: sprinkle them with pearl sugar, large sugar, or chocolate chips.

For the final baking: Bake for about 12 minutes at 220°C. Let them cool on a wire rack. Storage: The pretzels do not keep for long! They should be eaten the same day. However, they can be reheated in the oven or in a cast-iron skillet over low heat with a lid (this method will make them crispy). They can also be frozen and then baked for about 4 to 5 minutes in the oven at 180°C.