Gluten Free Smooth Pretzels | Auntie Ann’s Model

These Auntie Anne’s-style gluten free gentle pretzels are chewy, buttery, and have that actually genuine chew. Add within the candy mustard dipping sauce, and you will not even be tempted to have “only one” gluteny pretzel on the mall!

Why this recipe works

Identical to the mall pretzels, these gentle pretzels are made with a contact of brown sugar within the dough, butter baked into the dough for taste and richness, and loads of melted butter on prime. You will not give you the option to withstand that buttery, candy and salty mixture.

This new and improved model is made with a contact of psyllium husk within the dough for further chewy pretzels with a greater rise. Plus, the uncooked dough is simpler to deal with than ever.

The dough may even relaxation within the fridge in a sealed container for as much as 3 days earlier than baking. Bake half the dough one evening for 4 contemporary pretzels, and the opposite half the subsequent. You may also use it to form into rounds and bake pretzel rolls. Rating the dough in two lengthy slashes on prime, and in any other case comply with the recipe as written.

Components defined

There are quite a lot of substances on this recipe, however don’t be concerned! They’re all fairly widespread, and every has an necessary function within the excellent gentle pretzel:

• Gluten free flour mix: Be sure you use an all objective gluten free flour mix that makes use of superfinely floor white and brown rice flours as a base, with a mixture of starches to steadiness it. My favorites are Higher Batter’s traditional mix and Nicole’s Greatest multipurpose with added xanthan gum. Vitacost’s gluten free multi-purpose mix with added xanthan gum must also work, as ought to King Arthur Flour’s gluten free bread flour mix. I might keep away from Bob’s Crimson Mill 1-to-1 right here, because it is not well-suited to yeast bread.
• Tapioca starch: Despite the fact that most well-balanced all objective gluten free flour blends already include some tapioca starch, it is a separate added ingredient that provides stretch and chew to the pretzels.
• Milk powder: You should utilize nonfat, lowfat or entire milk powder. It helps the mix brown within the oven and provides extra richness than simply liquid milk.
• Psyllium husk: Pure fiber, this absorbs loads of moisture and types a gel-like substance that helps give the dough extra help, permitting it to rise greater. Watch out to make use of greater purity “blond” husk, or your baked items might flip a innocent however ugly blue/purple colour. I like NaturaleBio model entire husk from Amazon, but when it is out of inventory, purchase Yupik model. This isn’t a alternative for xanthan gum, however used along with it as the mix helps the rise, after which holds it because the pretzels cool.
• Brown sugar: Provides some sweetness and depth of taste, and feeds the yeast.
• Cream of tartar: reacts with acid to help the bread’s rise and helps the egg whites keep the rise because the bread cools.
• Baking soda: helps the pretzels brown within the oven.
• Salt: Controls the exercise of the yeast, and brightens the flavour of the bread.
• Butter: Provides taste, moisture, and tenderness to the crumb.
• Vinegar: Reacts with cream of tartar to create with rise; encourages yeast to rise in a secure manner.
• Milk: Provides moisture to carry the dough collectively, plus taste and richness.

The way to make gluten free gentle pretzels

This recipe has 3 predominant steps: making the uncooked dough then letting it rise and chill, shaping it and letting it rise once more, then boiling and baking the dough. The complete recipe with ingredient quantities and a video are within the recipe card beneath. These step-by-step images ought to assist you in making these pretzels in your personal kitchen:

Make the uncooked dough

Hydrate the psyllium husk
In a 2 cup measuring cup with a pour spout, so it is simple to pour later, whisk entire psyllium husk into heat milk. Enable the combination to take a seat for about 30 seconds or till the psyllium soaks up the liquid and begins to swell and kind a free gel. Hydrating the psyllium husk first prevents it from clumping within the dough.

Whisk the dry substances
Whisk collectively the remaining dry substances (gluten free flour mix with xanthan gum, tapioca starch, milk powder, yeast, cream of tartar, baking soda, and brown sugar) within the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk within the salt individually to verify it would not clump with the yeast, since they work in opposition to each other.

Add the moist substances
Add the moist substances (apple cider vinegar, butter, egg whites, and milk and psyllium husk combination) to the dry, and beat with the paddle attachment till the dough simply begins to return collectively. Proceed with the paddle attachment or swap to the dough hook (so long as you have added psyllium husk to the dough). Course of on excessive velocity for 4 full minutes for a well-mixed dough with some added air for a lighter crumb.

Refrigerate the dough
Place the dough in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate it, unshaped, for a minimum of 1 hour. The dough will develop some yeasted taste and turn into simpler to deal with because the flour absorbs among the moisture.

Form the dough into pretzels

Divide the dough
Utilizing a metallic bench scraper or sharp knife to chop the dough in half, then half once more, and eventually half once more for 8 equal items. Every ought to weigh about 5 ounces for full-sized gentle pretzels.

Form the pretzels
Roll and twist every bit of dough right into a traditional pretzel form 🥨 like this:

• Roll the primary piece of dough right into a 12-inch rope with the palms of each fingers urgent evenly away from each other. For bigger pretzels with extra seen shapes, roll the dough into an extended rope, nearer to 15-inches lengthy.
• Curve it into an the wrong way up “U” form and criss cross the ends over each other into an “X” about 3 inches away from every finish.
• Criss-cross every finish of the dough over each other as soon as extra to create a helix.
• Seize every of the ends once more, and invert the helix over on itself towards the spherical finish of the unique U form.
• Press the ends down to assist them adhere so the twist doesn’t unravel throughout boiling.

Let rise
Place the uncooked gentle pretzels on lined baking sheets and canopy with plastic wrap so they do not dry out. Place them in a draft-free location to rise till they’re almost doubled. Watch out to not allow them to overproof so that they keep intact throughout boiling.

Boil and bake the bagels

Boil
Add baking soda and salt to a big pot of water, and produce it to a vigorous, rolling boil. Place the risen pretzels gently within the boiling water and, with out crowding one another, allow them to boil for about 1 minute every. You should utilize a strainer to flip them over to boil on each side, or press down gently with a silicone spatula to immerse the highest within the water.

Bake
Return the boiled pretzels to the baking sheet, brush them with butter, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 400°F for quarter-hour. Scale back the oven temperature to 350°F and proceed to bake till they’re golden brown throughout and agency to the contact so that you’re sure they will not deflate as they cool. The inner temperature ought to be a minimum of 205°F on an instantaneous learn thermometer.

Knowledgeable ideas

Boil the pretzels first

Do not skip step one of boiling the formed and risen bagels in a baking soda tub earlier than baking. This units the outside of the dough, which restricts the dough from rising fairly as a lot throughout baking and begins to gel the starches within the dough. These reactions create that attribute chewy exterior, and a young, but considerably tight, crumb.

Hold your pretzels from falling aside

Be sure that the formed, risen dough would not disintegrate throughout boiling by following my time-tested ideas:

• Carry the baking soda tub to a full, rolling boil. A gradual boil will do little to seal the skin of the pretzel, and can simply trigger it to wilt.
• Don’t overproof the dough previous the purpose the place the floor of the rising dough begins to crater and break. When you’ve added psyllium husk, the pretzels ought to almost double in dimension; if you have not, solely anticipate them to rise about 50% greater than the unique dimension.
• Boil shortly; for those who soak the dough too lengthy, it might start to dissolve within the water.

Use a stand mixer

For a easy and cohesive dough that rises evenly, make the dough with a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook or the paddle attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, attempt utilizing a big meals processor with the plastic, moderately than the metallic, blade. 

Use psyllium husk + xanthan gum

Psyllium husk added to the dough helps it rise greater and bake up chewier, and makes the uncooked dough total extra secure. However psyllium husk begins to interrupt down within the oven at 180°F/82°C. So you will nonetheless want xanthan gum (or a xanthan gum substitute) plus egg whites to carry that rise for the remainder of baking and because the pretzels cool.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free
Rather than the butter within the dough and for brushing on the pretzels earlier than baking, attempt vegan butter and even Earth Steadiness buttery sticks. Rather than powdered dairy milk, attempt powdered coconut milk.

Egg free
Strive aquafaba (the brine from a can of unsalted chickpeas) instead of 2 egg whites (weighing 50 grams whole).

Tapioca starch/flour
As a replacement, attempt superfine glutinous (quick grain) white rice flour.

Psyllium husk
You can also make this recipe totally with out psyllium husk. Enhance the full quantity of xanthan gum to three teaspoons from 2. In case your flour mix already accommodates xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon extra. Use the paddle attachment in your stand mixer, and your dough will not roll fairly as easy or be as straightforward to deal with. It additionally will not rise fairly as excessive.

I want to make use of the entire husk, versus psyllium husk powder, as a result of it is much less prone to clump in liquid and create patches of extra fiber. When you want to make use of the powder, use about 15% much less by weight (right here, about 14 grams).

Cream of tartar/apple cider vinegar
You possibly can substitute cream of tartar with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar, and scale back the apple cider vinegar to 1/2 teaspoon. You may also substitute apple cider vinegar itself with a complete of 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar.

FAQs

Storage ideas

When you do not plan to serve all of those gluten free gentle pretzels proper after baking, attempt salting solely those you plan to serve. Then, moisten and salt the opposite ones proper earlier than serving.

Wrap any leftover pretzels tightly in plastic wrap or Glad Press ‘n’ Seal and retailer at room temperature for two days. Sprinkle evenly with lukewarm water in case the rolls have dried out in any respect, and heat briefly in a 300°F toaster oven earlier than serving.

For longer storage, wrap every cool pretzel tightly in freezer-safe wrap and freeze. Defrost at 50% energy within the microwave and heat in a toaster oven earlier than serving.