This is a guest post of nine-year-old Ashriya, who took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to apprentice with her mom and learn WordPress. When she’s not testing new recipes, you can probably find her designing fashionable clothing, playing violin, or devouring Harry Potter.
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Soft Pretzels
It was around 2019’s Oktoberfest, and we were looking for some German traditional food to make…and we came across Soft Pretzels and decided that we should try them this year. So, we got to work. 1h and 15 mins later we were done with the Pretzels’ dough and it had risen and we had shaped them into Pretzels’ shapes. We choose to have the toppings to be some cinnamon and sugar, some cardamom and sugar and then some salt. They turned out so delicious that they were gone by lunch the next day!
music
German Music
I really wanted to find some traditional German Oktoberfest music, so I asked my mom’s friends Tante Kate in Frankfurt, Germany and Tante Miriam now in Amsterdam, Netherlands to send me some. First she sent me a link to Die Wildecker Herzbuben, but it the modern takes on folk songs weren’t what I had in mind. Then she sent some more traditional ones that I liked.
They shared a mix of clubby modern takes on folk songs that are common these days, as well as some traditional ones.
Then I also had to add a family favorite German version of “Itsy, Bitsy, Teenie, Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” that we came across last summer.
recipe
Ashriya’s Soft Pretzels
Ashriya’s Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough:
- 2 packages instant yeast
- 2 tsps salt
- 2 cups warm milk
- 4 tbsps melted butter
- 6 tbsps brown sugar
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
Egg+Water Mixture:
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup warm water
Various Toppings:
- cinnamon and sugar
- cardamom and sugar
- salt
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a medium bowl, stir the yeast, salt, milk, butter and brown sugar.
- Mix in the flour until a dough is forming.
- Once the dough is done, knead for 10 to 15 minutes.
Let the dough sit:
- After kneading the dough, transfer the dough back to the bowl and drizzle with a bit olive oil so it doesn't stick to the bowl.
- Then, place a small towel, a cloth or some plastic wrap.
- Now, put the dough aside and put on a timer on for 1 hour.
Creating the dough into a pretzel:
- After 1 hour of the dough rising, punch it down and divide carefully into 12 – 16 pieces.
- Then, you roll your 12 – 16 pieces into really long ropes (the longer/skinnier the bigger and harder the pretzels will be) .
- Then make the ropes into a pretzel shape and dip into the egg and water mixture.
- Place on a baking sheet.
Bake The Pretzels:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit.
- Sprinkle some cardamom and sugar or cinnamon sugar or some salt.
- Once preheated, put in the oven and bake for 6 – 12 minutes or until the surface of the pretzels have the color of golden-brown.
- Once done baking, you can dip into some sort of sauce or eat as a sandwich or just eat it plain.
Bonus
Pictures From the Process of the Pretzels
Here you can see my brother and I making the pretzels. In the first picture I am wearing one of my two authentic German dirndls that Tante Kate brought me all the way from Germany.
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Variations
We like to experiment with different toppings like cinnamon and sugar, and cardamom and sugar.
We also like to use a twinkie pan to turn the dough into min-baguettes! Sometimes we make them savory to make a nice home for Oktoberfest bratworsts, and sometimes sweet because they are so delicious.
