This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a commission if you click on a link, or make a purchase using the links in this post. All opinions are my own.
This might sound a little silly, but I love picnics. I have a passion for picnics even. So, I decided maybe I should start sharing all our picnics, chronicling them. And, so, this is the start of a new series, The Picnic Chronicles. This will be all about fun, unique picnic ideas.
Since we have been on a stay at home order that discourages spending time outside of your home, we decided to have a little picnic at home. Perfect date night at home, or once this is all behind us, a date night out!
One of the things we have both enjoyed doing together during this quarantine, social distancing, Covid-19 time, is baking! Neither of us had made pretzels before, so we decided to make our own. And, wow. You guys. These are the best soft pretzels I have ever had! Ever!
Since we wanted to try our hand at making pretzels, we thought hey, let’s make this a Bavarian Picnic!
During normal times, two of our favorite spots for date night are Schweinhaus in Bellingham and Queen Anne Beer Hall in the Queen Anne neighborhood in Seattle. Both have excelled beer selections, German themed food including pretzels! We channeled those places when coming up with our picnic menu.
Picnic menus, really, can be whatever you want. But, I really love a variety of small bite size items, finger foods, and.
Bavarian Picnic Menu
Soft Pretzels (see recipe below)
Sausage or Wurst
Sauerkraut
Pickles
Variety of Mustard
Beer Cheese
German Potato Salad
Beer
Wine
Even if you’re going to skip out on the Bavarian picnic, you’re still going to want to make these soft pretzels. They are the best soft pretzels ever after all! And easy peasy too!
PrintThe Best Easy Soft Pretzels
These really are the best soft pretzels, ever! Recipe is adapted from the original which can be found from King Arthur Flour.
- Yield: 8 soft pretzels 1x
- Category: Appetizer or Entree
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 (298g) cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 1/4 (7g) tsp instant yeast
- 7/8 to 1 (198g to 227g) cups warm water
- 1 (227g) cup boiling water
- 2 (28g) tbs baking soda
- sprinkle coarse salt
- 1 1/2 (22g) tbs melted butter
Instructions
- Place flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and warm water into your bread machine. Choose the dough setting. Let the dough cycle run.
- Take dough out of machine and place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Combine the boiling water and baking soda in an 8x8ish pan. Make sure the baking soda is completely dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 475 and grease a baking pan.
- Lightly grease a work surface and place dough on it. Divide into 8 equal pieces. Let the pieces rest for 5 minutes.
- Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 2 ft long, and twist each rope into a pretzel shape. Place pretzels 4ish at a time into the pan of baking soda and water, spooning the water over the top for 2 minutes.
- Place pretzels on the baking dish.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Rest for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes until golden brown.
- Take pretzels out of the oven and brush with melted butter.
- Enjoy warm!
If you like this, check out Picnic Checklist!
Are you a picnic fan? What do you want to see from The Picnic Chronicles?
Kait says
Oh my gosh I LOVE pretzels! I’ve never made them before though. Thanks for sharing!
Ashley says
This is such a great theme! I love it and I know my husband would too. Can’t wait to make these soft pretzels!
Caitlin says
I’ve got a pound of yeast! Definitely making these this weekend!