Shaping soft pretzels seems complicated, but if you do it step-by-step it’s easier than pie!
Divide the dough up evenly, making sure to keep the dough you’re not working with covered so it doesn’t dry out
Roll each piece of dough out into a log
Roll each log out into a rope about 12-16 inches long, let it rest for a short bit, then roll it out into a rope 24-28 inches long
Put the dough rope into a U-shape with the ends pointing up. Cross the ends once or twice, then bring them down towards the bottom of the U at 4 and 8 o’clock. Press down lightly. That’s it!
Soft pretzel ingredients
If you’ve made bread before, you can make pretzels! The dough is made out of the same ingredients, plus a little special addition: beer. For these pretzels, you’ll need: instant yeast, water, brown sugar, bread flour, beer, butter, salt, baking soda, and an egg yolk. Easy peasy. I bet you have everything in your pantry right now. The beer adds an extra malty flavor, but if you don’t want to use it, just substitute water.
