A few weeks ago, I received a request from a reader for a recipe for pretzels, or what Israelis call “beigeleh”. I was about to send her a few of my favorite recipes when I realized that these would in fact be perfect for my weekly food column. I can't imagine there are many people around who don't love pretzels, whether they are soft or hard, covered with salt or poppy seeds. Some people eat them with sour cream, vegetables and even lox. There are lots of different kinds of pretzels. Romanian pretzels are small and hard and are covered with sesame seeds. The only downside I know to eating a pretzel is it just makes you want to eat another one and then another one…. Jerusalem pretzels come in a few shapes and sizes. When you buy a Jerusalem pretzel on the streets of the city, many times it comes with a little pouch of aromatic za'atar that you can dip the bread into. Below you'll find four recipes for different pretzels, as well as few tips for preparing these yummy treats. Traditional Pretzels Makes 6-8 pieces, depending on size 500 gr. white or whole wheat flour, sifted 50 gr. white sugar 1 Tbsp. dry yeast 1¼ to 1½ cups (250 to 300 ml.) water, depending on absorbency of flour 1 egg yolk or whole egg 3 Tbsp. canola or olive oil 1 tsp. salt Wash: 1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water or oil Topping: ¼ cup whole poppy seeds Serving suggestion: Sour cream Cucumber, sliced thinly Capers, dill and slices of lox In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, add flour, sugar and yeast. Mix well with the mixer on low speed. While mixing, add the water slowly (not all of it). When the dough begins to form, add the yolk or egg, oil and salt. Knead dough. If it's too dry, add a little water and keep kneading for 7 minutes on medium speed until dough is sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 30-60 minutes or until the volume doubles. Separate dough into 6-8 balls and form a hole in the middle of each ball. Roll out each ball until it's 2 cm. thick and then poke a hole in the middle and form a ring. Prepare all the pretzels in the same way and place evenly on a baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle poppy seeds on top. Let rise another 20-30 minutes. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool. Just before serving, cut in half and spread with cheese. Add slices of cucumber, capers and lox. Twisted Pretzels Makes 8 medium pretzels 500 gr. flour, sifted 1½ Tbsp. dry yeast 3 Tbsp. sugar 1½ cups water ¼ cup oil 1 tsp. salt Dipping: 2 liters water 2 Tbsp. baking soda ½ cup sugar-free silan (date syrup) or honey Wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water or oil Topping: Kosher salt, za'atar, sesame, sunflower or nigella seeds In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add flour, yeast, and sugar. Mix on low speed. While mixing, slowly add water (not all of it) and the oil. When the dough begins to form, add the salt and continue mixing for 7 minutes on medium speed. Cover with a towel and let dough rise for 30 minutes. Just before dough is finished rising, take another large bowl and add water, baking soda and silan. Mix and bring to a boil. Then lower flame. Split dough into 8 sections and roll out each section. Double over dough and form into pretzel shapes. Add 3-4 pretzels into pot with silan and cook for 30-40 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on baking paper. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle seeds on top. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180° for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Romanian Pretzels Makes 16 pretzels 1 kg. white or spelt flour, sifted 2 Tbsp. dry yeast ½ cup sugar 2½ cups water 4 Tbsp. oil 1 Tbsp. salt Boiling solution: 2 liters water 2 Tbsp. baking soda ½ cup sugar-free silan or honey Wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water or oil Topping: ½ cup sesame seeds In an electric mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook, add flour, yeast and sugar. Mix on low speed. While mixing, slowly add water (not all of it) and oil. When the dough begins to form, continue mixing for another 8 minutes on medium speed. Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Just before dough is ready, add water, baking soda and silan to a large pot. Mix and bring to a boil. Lower the flame. Separate dough into 16 sections. Form long strips that are as long as possible and then form them into pretzel shapes, fastening two ends together. Or just wind them into screw shapes. Put 3 or 4 of the pretzels into the silan water and cook for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on baking paper. If one part of the pretzel has become disconnected or disfigured, you can reconnect it on the baking tray. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Make all the pretzels in the same way. Bake in an oven that was preheated to 200°-210° for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely and serve. Translated by Hannah Hochner. Jerusalem Pretzels Makes 6-8 pretzels 500 gr. flour, sifted 1 Tbsp. dry yeast 3 Tbsp. sugar 1 egg 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1½ cups water 1 Tbsp. salt Wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water or oil Topping: ¼ cup sesame seeds Serving suggestion: Za'atar In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, yeast and sugar. Mix well on low speed. While mixing, add the egg, oil, water and salt. Mix for another 7 minutes on medium speed until dough is sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise for 60 minutes or until it doubles in volume. Separate into 6-8 sections and poke a hole in the middle of each ball and then form a ring that has a thickness of 2 cm. You can also stretch the ring out to form an ellipse shape. Make the rest of the pretzels in the same fashion. Arrange them on a tray covered with baking paper. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. Let rise another 20 minutes and then bake in an oven that has been preheated to 200° for 20-25 minutes or until turns golden brown. Remove and let cool.
(photo credit: PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN)