Sourdough Pumpkin Pretzels

Soft and chewy sourdough pumpkin pretzels with a cinnamon-sugar coating. They’re fun to make and even better to eat!

📝 Ingredients

• 25 g sourdough starter
• 50 g bread flour
• 50 g water
• 120 g water lukewarm
• 32 g soft brown sugar
• 180 g pure pumpkin puree
• 440 g bread flour
• all the sourdough starter (100g (around 1/2 cup))
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 litres water
• 60 g baking soda
• 40 Tbsp butter (melted)
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1In the morning or the evening before, feed your sourdough starter.
2. 2Once the starter is ready to go, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the dough ingredients and use a fork to combine it into a thick and rough dough.
3. 3Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and knead it until it is smooth and strong. For optimal gluten development, the dough should be worked and kneaded for around 8 minutes. Take a break if you need it, it will get easier to knead if you let it rest for a bit. Alternatively, mix the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed.
4. 4Once kneaded, place the dough ball in a bowl and cover it. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until it has almost doubled.
5. 5Once the dough has risen, place it in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.
6. 6--- The next day ---
7. 7Pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball.
8. 8Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (a kitchen scale works well to ensure even pretzels) and shape each dough into a smooth ball. Let these dough balls rest for 5 minutes.
9. 9Take a piece of dough and roll it out into a 24inch/60cm long rope. If the dough resists, let it rest a little longer. Take the two ends of the rope and bring them together at the top and twist the ends together.Fold the twisted ends down.
10. 10Place the shaped pretzels onto individual pieces of parchment paper. Let them rest at room temperature for around 1-3 hours until puffy. When they have nearly finished puffing, preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.
11. 11--- Poaching and baking ---
12. 12Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and once the water is boiling, stir in the baking soda. Take care as it will foam.
13. 13Line a baking pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
14. 14Carefully drop the pretzels on their parchment paper squares in the boiling water, in batches one at a time. Remove the paper once the pretzels are in the water.
15. 15Let them poach in the water for 1 minute, flipping them after 30 seconds. Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and place them on the baking sheet.
16. 16Bake in the oven for around 18-20 minutes until deep brown. If they are baking unevenly or your oven has hot spots, turn the oven tray around after 15 minutes of baking.
17. 17Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping.
18. 18When the pretzels come from the oven, let them cool slightly, then brush with melted butter while they're still warm, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.