From The Berghoff Café Cookbook: Berghoff Family Recipes for Simple, Satisfying Food by Carlyn Berghoff and Nancy Ross Ryan
Makes 12 medium-size or 24 small pretzels
Pretzels are one of the world’s oldest snacks. Great-grandfather Herman ate them in Germany as a boy and here in America as an adult. It was natural that they would find their way into the Berghoff bar. Traditionally, shaped pretzel dough is briefly boiled in water, just like bagels, before being baked. This brief boiling gives both pretzels and bagels shiny crusts and a very chewy texture. I omitted the step of boiling the shaped dough when I developed our pretzel recipe for the home kitchen, so this pretzel is easy to shape and bake. It has a nice soft crust, easy to bite, easy to chew. It is best baked and eaten on the same day. Pretzels are fun for kids and grown-ups alike to shape. We recommend eating these pretzels with any Berghoff beer or a frosty mug of Berghoff Root Beer.
4 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ cups warm water
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, well beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel (coarse) salt, as needed
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Do not use a convection oven for this recipe.
To mix in a mixer: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt, and stir to mix; add the water, butter, and egg yolk, and mix on low until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead the dough at the lowest speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, adding some or all of the remaining flour as needed. Cover with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with cooking spray and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
To mix by hand: In a 4-quart bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt, and whisk to mix; add the water, butter, and egg yolk and, using a large spoon, stir until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
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Reader Comments
I saw your demonstration on the noon news on WGN. I would like to know the steps following the above recipe (it got as far as the stirring by hand). Do I need to let the dough sit? Please let me know what to do. I was raised in Chicago and remember the great aromas from your restaurant.
Thank you
Cherie Shallock
Lynchburg, VA
Hi Cherie. Here’s the reply from Carlyn.
Remove the spoon and, using your hands, knead the dough right in the bowl until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, adding some or all of the remaining flour as needed. Cover with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with cooking spray and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
To shape the pretzels: Turn out the dough on a lightly floured board and knead briefly, about 1 minute. Cut the dough into twelve equal-size pieces. Roll out each dough piece into a 24-inchlong rope. Make a U shape with the rope. Holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press the ends down onto the bottom of the U to seal, forming a “pretzel shape.” For small pretzels, cut the dough into 24 equal-size pieces. Roll out each dough piece into a 12-inchlong rope and shape as directed.
Gently place each pretzel on a parchment paper– lined baking sheet (two pans). Brush the tops lightly with the egg white mixture. Sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt, or to taste. Bake in the preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes, or until browned and firm. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.