Brewfest Soft Pretzels
Happy Autumn, Food Adventurers! The end of summer always means it is time for Brewfest in Azeroth (World of Warcraft). Today we will head to the snowy mountains near the Dwarven city of Ironforge to celebrate with soft pretzels and all things yeasty.
We catch a ride at a local Flight Point with the griffins that fly to Ironforge. Hold on tight! We fly over the summer fields full of veggies ready to harvest and wave at the farmers getting ready for market days. The griffins head further north over the mountain passes and the fields of grass become fields of snow, the heavy apple trees giving way to snow-covered pines. The chill in the air is refreshing and we pull our cloaks a little tighter against the wind.
We spot the Brewfest celebration below us in the small town of Kharanos just as the city of Ironforge looms ahead of us. The large metal structure is built right into the side of a mountain. Our griffins know just where the flight entrances are and swoop into the city, where we are greeted with the welcome heat from the central lava pit that runs the city. Our landing space is near the central forge where Dwarves are carefully working on armor and swords for adventurers.
Suddenly we are jolted from our reverie by a Gnome, riding a goat who is clearly loving running at top speed through the city. The Gnome is yelling about Brewfest and thrusts a flyer in our hand as they pass. There are free food tickets attached! We follow the path of the goat, narrowly avoid being run over by several others, and walk down the steep rocky path that leads out of the city and down to the village. There are games aplenty and a whole series of tents where vendors from all over clamor to show off their brews or baked goods. The scents of hops, yeast, pine, and goats are heavy in the cold air. We use our tickets to pick up a large soft pretzel, bowl of hot beer-cheese dip, and a sample mug of ale from one of the vendors. There are picnic tables set up in strategic locations for people-watching. What a perfect afternoon.
Adapted from Chelsea Monroe-Cassel’s World of Warcraft Cookbook, which is fun and one of my favorites.
Brewfest Soft Pretzels
Equipment
- Very large pot (for boiling water)
- 2 Baking sheets
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp yeast instant or regular
- ¼ cup butter MELTED (or non-dairy butter)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg for glazing beaten
- Kosher or rock salt for sprinkling on top
WATER BATH
- 10 cups water
- ⅔ cup baking soda
Instructions
- Melt the butter.
- Prepare oven: put one rack at the bottom and the other in the center. (If they are too close together the pretzels will be too tall to fit). Do not heat the oven yet, this is just to get it ready.
- In a large bowl, combine the water, sugar, salt, and yeast and allow to sit for a few minutes. The yeast will soften and begin to foam.
- Add the melted butter to the yeasted water, then the flour one cup at a time, until you have a soft workable dough that isn't sticky. (a stand mixer with dough hook works great for this)
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for several minutes until the dough bounces back when poked. Move the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. (it may need extra time if your room is cold)
- MEANWHILE bring the 10 cups of water to a boil in a large pot, then slowly add the baking soda. Note that the baking soda will foam up as soon as it touches the water (science!) then will quickly go back down. Remove from heat and stir until the baking soda is dissolved. (This sits off the heat and is still warm when we need it; cover the pot if the room is cold)
- Once the dough has risen, divide it in half, then divide each half into 6 equal pieces. (12 pieces total)
- Working gently, roll each piece into a rope about 18-20″ long. Fold the rope into a U-shape, cross the ends and do a twist, then bring them back down to meet the curved loop at the bottom of the pretzel. Repeat this process with all pieces of dough.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Working one at a time, gently slide each pretzel into the warm baking soda bath. Spoon the warm water over the top of the pretzel for 30 seconds to a minute, during which time the pretzel should start to puff up. Using a spatula (or two), lift the pretzel out of the water and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all pretzels.
- Brush each pretzel with beaten egg and sprinkle a little coarse salt over the top. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating halfway through (top shelf / bottom shelf), until the pretzels are a nice dark brown. (Rotating is important or the bottom tray will not brown and will overcook on the bottom.)
- Serve with beer, cheese dip, mustard, and/or honey. Happy Brewfest!
