Sourdough Discard Pretzels

These soft Sourdough discard pretzels are a super easy and quick way to get homemade pretzels on the table for a snack or appetizer.

Course Sourdough

Cuisine American

Keyword sourdough discard, sourdough discard pretzels

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Additional Time 3

Total Time 3 30

Servings pretzels

Calories 154kcal

Author Lisa

Ingredients

3 teaspoons active dry yeast 9g
1 cup water 236 g
1 cup sourdough discard 285 grams
2 tablespoons honey 42 g
2 teaspoons salt 14 g
4 cups unbleached all purpose flour 560 g

For boiling the pretzels

2 quarts water
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Egg Wash

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. It should get nice and bubbly.
To the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the sourdough discard, honey, salt and flour.
Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough by hand for 5-10 minutes.
Place the dough in a large mixing bowl that has been lightly greased.
Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, a beeswax wrap, plastic wrap, or a wet tea towel.
Let the dough rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a 18” rope and then create a U-shape.
Take the two ends of the rope and create a twist with the dough.
Twist it twice and then press the ends of the dough into the bottom of the U-shape. Make sure to pinch the dough together well to prevent the dough from unraveling during the boiling process.
Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes to one hour, or until puffy.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Bring water in a large stockpot to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
Add the pretzels to the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds on each side, being careful not to overcrowd.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the pretzels and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush each pretzel with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt or pretzel salt.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Another option is to bake and then once they are done baking, brush with melted butter and dip in cinnamon sugar. Yum.

Notes

Make sure when shaping the pretzels, to pinch the dough together well. If it isn't, the dough may come apart during boiling.
Sensitive to baking soda? You can substitute the baking soda for just brown sugar. It will still give you that yummy chewy skin that pretzels are known for.
Depending on the hydration of your starter, it could make the pretzel dough more or less stiff. I use a starter that has been fed equal parts flour and water. If you feed your starter something different, then the amount of flour may need to be adjusted.

Nutrition