Sourdough Discard Pretzels
A recipe for using up sourdough discard.
Servings 6 pretzels
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 113 grams discard
- 2 cups bread flour (280 grams)
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon instant yeast
- ½ tablespoon sugar (6 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon melted butter (14 grams)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or buttery coconut oil
- ¼ to ½ cup maybe more warm water
Boiling Solution
- 5 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda
- 1 large beaten egg mixed with a little water**
- Pretzel salt Kosher salt or Everything Bagel seasoning
Instructions
- Weigh out 113 grams of discard and put it in the stand mixer bowl. Add 280 grams bread flour, the yeast, ½ tablespoon sugar and salt. Stir well, then stir in the butter and olive oil. Add ¼ cup of water and stir to soften dough. Continue adding water about a tablespoon at a time until most of the flour has been absorbed and dough doesn’t seem too dry or too sticky.
- Put bowl with dough on stand mixer, attach dough hook and knead until dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in warm spot in the kitchen until doubled (45 minutes to an hour).
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and spray with olive oil cooking spray or rub with vegetable oil. These pretzels can be sticky, even on parchment.
- Bring the 5 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a 3 ½ quart saucepan.
- Meanwhile, turn the dough and shape it into a long rectangle about 6 x20 inches. Cut rectangle into 6 long even strips. Working one strip at a time, roll each strip with your fingers to make it cylindrical, then shape into a pretzel. Set the shaped pretzels on the parchment while you are waiting for the water to boil.
- Once water starts to boil, lift the pretzel and gently drop into the gently boiling water. Boil for about 30 seconds. With a slotted spatula, lift pretzel (letting excess water drip off) and set on your parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have boiled all five pretzels. With a pastry brush, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with salt or Everything Bagel seasoning.
- Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 16-18 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
The amount of water really will vary based on the fluidity of your discard, how dry your bread flour is and how it's measured. Add it incrementally until the dough is soft enough to shape.