How many times have you craved gluten free soft pretzels? Or better yet – vegan gluten free soft pretzels? Only after several years was I able to go to a bakery and leave with a warm, boiled and baked, soft pretzel that was not only free from gluten, but also dairy and eggs. That bakery was Jewel’s Bakery & Cafe in Phoenix, AZ. Years later, after only getting soft pretzels when Julie and team made them fresh at the cafe (and before they ran out- which was often), can I make them myself. I know you’re wondering why you’d follow a recipe from someone who is notoriously terrible at following recipes. Because it’s not my recipe, it’s Julie’s. That’s right – this blog post contains Julie’s secret vegan gluten free soft pretzel recipe. She gave it to me to post on my blog because she wanted to share the awesomeness that is gluten free soft pretzels with you all.

I was hesitant at first because I assumed this recipe would be really difficult. I mean, if soft pretzels were easy to make, why isn’t every bakery nailing them like Jewel’s Bakery & Cafe? These pretzels are soft and fluffy – and better yet – easy to make. I nailed these on the first try. And by nailed, I mean I definitely had to go online to watch a YouTube video on how to make those little pretzel shapes, but you can make them into anything and they turn out great. PS, do not get disappointed if they don’t roll as easily as the YouTube videos or those rockstars at Auntie Anne’s at the mall – gluten holds those all together and makes it easy to roll into pretzel shapes. These are free from that binder, and eggs, so no tossing around the kitchen!

These are made using Jewel’s All-Purpose Flour mix. You can easily order the flour mix online at http://www.jewelsbakeryandcafe.com/shop/allpurposeflour for $12 for 2.5 lbs. or all-purpose goodness. If you live in Arizona, you can easily buy her flour at the Bakery & Cafe.

This recipe made about 12 small, palm-sized pretzels. Double this recipe with no problem! You can make these pretzels in large batches and freeze for later, because they don’t last long (if you can stand not eating them all in one sitting).

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ tsp yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 ½ TBS brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups Jewel’s All Purpose Flour (http://www.jewelsbakeryandcafe.com/shop/allpurposeflour)
• ½ C Potato starch
• ½ C Rice Flour
• Course salt or other optional toppings. (vegan cheese, vegan butter with cinnamon and sugar)
• 2 TBS baking soda in a large pot of boiling water (about 5 cups water)

DIRECTIONS:

• Bloom yeast in the warm water, along with the brown sugar.
• Combine the AP flour with the potato starch and rice flour.
• While the yeast blooms, put the flour mix in a stand mixer with a paddle.
• After yeast blooms, add the wet ingredients into the stand mixer and blend until smooth.
• Gather about 1/3 cup of dough and roll into a long snake about ½ thick. Twist into a pretzel or other fun shape.
• Place on greased parchment paper or pan, and let rise for 30 min.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and get the water boiling with the baking soda.
• After the dough has risen, carefully place each pretzel into the boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove with a spatula or grated utensil, and place back on greased sheet.
• Immediately top with course salt (or other toppings) or they will not stick to the dough.
• Bake for about 8-10 minutes at 350 until golden brown!
• Eat within a few hours, or wrap tight and freeze to reheat at a later date.

Thanks again to Julie from Jewel’s Bakery & Cafe for sharing this recipe with the gluten-free world!

Tagged: dairy free, egg free, gluten free, Jewel's Bakery & Cafe, Jewel's Bakery and Cafe, phoenix, recipe, soft pretzels, vegan