Can’t decide between pretzels and bagels? You don’t have to! These Twisted Pretzel Bagels are so soft and fluffy! They are topped with pretzel salt. If you want to make something special for a weekend brunch, then these are perfect for it!
Lately, many introduction texts here on Elephantastic Vegan start with ‘can’t decide between … and … ?’. That’s how recipes like Banana Bread Pancakes and Pretzel Garlic Knots come to life. But seriously, aren’t these the best ones? That combine two amazing recipes into one? I think so!
The same is true for these Twisted Pretzel Bagels. Bagels are cool, yo. Anything pretzel-style is super yum. And then the twisted style – I’m in love with this recipe! Of course, they are topped with coarse pretzel salt – it’s almost the most important thing.
How to shape the Twisted Pretzel Bagel
Here’s a step-by-step photo instruction on how to make Twisted Pretzel Bagels: 1) Form a long rope (12 inch/30cm) and pick it up in the middle. 2) Twist the two sides. 3) Pinch together the edges so it’s a Twisted Bagel!
How to pretzel anything
To give the bagels a pretzel coating, I’ve cooked them in a baking soda bath before baking. This adds not only the beautiful brown pretzel color (they’ll turn brown while baking) but also the typical pretzel taste! I’ve tried lots of different water to baking soda ratios and found that 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda to 3 cups of water is ideal. If you use too much baking soda, the pretzel bagels get very bitter.
Twisted Pretzel Bagels with hummus and fresh chives
Serve the Twisted Pretzel Bagels with …
- basic hummus and fresh chives (like I did!)
- oil-free spinach hummus
- potato cheese spread (or as we Austrians like to call it – Kartoffelkäse)
- almond cream cheese
Twisted Pretzel Bagels
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour + more to dust the dough and surfaces
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil + more to coat the dough
- 1/3 cup water
Baking Soda Bath
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
Topping
- 2 teaspoons pretzel salt
Instructions
- Combine the flour, instant yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add olive oil and water. Mix and knead by hand until a soft dough forms or put all the ingredients in a kitchen machine and let the machine knead the dough for you. Finetune the dough: If it's too sticky, add more flour. If it's too crumbly, add more water.
- Coat the ball of dough in a drizzle of olive oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest in a warm spot until it doubles in size (about 2-3 hours - depending on the room temperature!).
- Divide the dough into 4 equal parts, roll each part into a very long rope (about 12 inches / 30cm), pick it up in the middle, twist the two sides and pinch together the edges so it's a bagel shape.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- In a medium-sized pot, bring the water for the baking soda bath to a boil. Add the baking soda. Stir to combine.
- Cook each pretzel bagel in the baking soda bath for about one minute. Transfer them to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle them with the pretzel salt.
- Bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden. And enjoy!
Nutrition
Did you make these Twisted Pretzel Bagels? Leave a comment and please rate the recipe for other users! If you post a photo on instagram, use the hashtag #elephantasticvegan and tag me via @elephantasticvegan to make sure I’ll see it ^.^ I love to see all your lovely creations! Thanks! <3
Crystal Spear
Tuesday 28th of July 2020
Can I let these rise overnight and finish in the morning?
Elizabeth
Thursday 22nd of April 2021
@Crystal Spear, I would think you could. I did that once with brioche and it was fine. Huge but still good.