A Pretzel With Mustard Is a Glorious Snack
Why not bake your own?
When you’re craving a salty snack, there’s nothing quite like homemade pretzels and mustard. And the only thing better than a pretzel with mustard is mustard variety. Dijon. Honey mustard. Yellow mustard. German mustard. Chinese mustard. Maybe you have some of Buffalo, New York-style Weber’s brand horseradish mustard. I’m not suggesting you go on a mustard goose-chase or spend a bunch of money on mustard. But if you’re a condiment collector with some mustards sitting around, here’s a recipe that calls for all of them.
Like bagels, pretzels are boiled before baking. The key is adding baking soda to the water, which gives pretzels their distinctive flavor and brown, glossy crust. The recipe here produces perfectly chewy pretzels with dark, burnished exteriors. If you like your soft pretzels to have a little more crunch on the outside but remain tender and chewy in the middle, just lower the oven temperature and bake for a little longer.
The only “exotic” ingredient in the recipe is malt syrup (which also helps with that beautiful crust), but if you can’t find it, just substitute brown sugar. You can twist pretzels into their signature shape, but you can also bake them as rolls or twists if you prefer. The only thing that’s non-negotiable (IMHO) is serving these with some mustard for…
