Maple-Toffee Glazed Pretzels

These pretzels are makin' me thirsty!

I love Seinfeld; I will watch that show anytime I see that it's on. It's one of those shows where you can watch the episodes over and over again, and they're still funny. You gotta love Larry David.

I was craving Auntie Anne's the other night, so I decided to make some homemade-soft pretzels. The dough is a basic pretzel dough, but I made a glaze to brush on top, using butter, brown sugar and maple syrup, and then I sprinkled sea salt on top of the pretzels. See? Sweet and salty.

You don't want to brush too much of the glaze on top, because the bottom of the pretzels will stick to the pan - that's what happened to me. If you save a little glaze to the side, it's good for dipping.

Also, go ahead and eat up the pretzels on the day you make them; the next day they are too chewy to eat. They're absolutely perfect, hot out of the oven.

I adapted this recipe from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking, because I needed a reference on how to make pretzels. I've made pretzels before, but they've never turned out well. These are the best I've made...so far. My adaptation is a little quicker and easier than the original.

Maple-Toffee Glazed Pretzels (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

3 1/4 cups bread flour, plus additional for rolling
1 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoons butter, softened, plus additional for greasing
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

8 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda

1 egg
1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached, combine flour, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and mix until elastic, about 5 minutes on medium speed.

Butter a large mixing bowl; place dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. I set my bowl in the oven at 170 degrees F, but that may have been too warm. It got the job done though!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (remove dough, duh). Butter two large baking sheet pans; line with parchment paper, then butter parchment.

Bring 8 cups of water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces, and roll into pretzel shape on a floured surface.

Reduce water to a simmer; gently lower two pretzels into water, cook 1 minute, then remove onto baking sheet using a slotted spoon or spatula. Repeat process with remaining pretzels.

Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water, in a small bowl, until combined; brush evenly over tops of pretzels.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in maple syrup and brown sugar, and bring mixture to a boil, whisking frequently; boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.

After 10 minutes, remove pretzels from oven and brush glaze over the tops (save leftover glaze for dipping!). Evenly sprinkle pretzels with sea salt. Return pans to oven and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown; transfer to wire racks.

Makes 8 large pretzels