Bavarian bretzels with EVO oil and sourdough

• 1 hour to activate the yeast • 3.5 hours to leaven • Serves 8

The best kind of twisted II

Few days ago, we wanted to bake bretzels again but my regular brewer's yeast was over.
So, I decided to change my plans and to try sourdough bretzels.

Among many different recipes, I chose this way, which also features EVO oil instead of butter, for increased lightness.
Honestly, I didn’t have very high hopes for us. Maybe I was just having a doubtful day.
But, after playing around a bit, they turned out to be amazing!So much so, that if I didn't tell anything, nobody would have noticed the difference!

Aside from how delicious these turned out, they were extremely easy!
So, let’s make ’em!

Here are ingredients for a 8-serving recipe (8 bretzels):

For the bretzels:
440 g flour 0
80 g fresh sourdough starter
20 g sugar
175 ml warm water
35 ml EVO oil
5 g salt
Maldon salt flakes

For the boiling solution:
30 g baking soda

1. The first thing to be done is to activate the sourdough. To prepare the fresh, active sourdough, you need 50 g of mature starter, 50 g of extra flour, 50 g of water (better if sparkling). Mix the sourdough with water and flour until you obtain an homogeneous dough. Place it in a clean jar, close it hermetically, and wait for it to mature for about 3 hours
2. Once the sourdough is active and full of bubbles, take 80 g of fresh sourdough starter, and pour it into a large bowl, together with the warm water and the sugar. Stir well until it melts in the water
3. Add half of the flour, and stir well. Then add the salt and the rest of the flour. Knead the dough again
4. Finally, very slowly, add the EVO oil and stir again until until uniformly moist
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 2 hours at room temperature
6. After this time has passed, take the dough. Generously dust the counter with flour and knead the dough again very quickly
7. Then, refrigerate it, loosely covered, for other 12 hours before using it
8. When you are ready to bake the bretzels, take the dough out of the fridge, leaving at least 1 hour and half for it to warm up and get pliable
9. Then, cut the dough into 8 pieces. Roll a 50-cm long thick pencil shape with your hands but keep the middle a little thicker. Pick up both ends, cross to form rabbit ears and then twist the ends and pull them back to the rest of the loop. Place aside on some baking paper and let rise about 30 minutes
10. Then, place the bretzels in the fridge for at least 1 hour
11. In a saucepan, dissolve the baking soda in 4 liters of eater by mixing well
12. Preheat oven to 200°C
13. Bring soda and water mixture to a light boil. Place bretzels one at a time into the liquid baking soda mixture for 40 seconds. Using a large slotted plastic spatula, push each bretzel into the water to ensure it is fully covered. Remove the bretzel from the liquid mixture and place onto a cloth to drain. Then, put it on the baking tray, lined with parchment paper
14. Use a sharp knife and slit the thickest part of the bretzels lengthwise. Salt the top of pretzels with Maldon salt flakes as desired
15. Place the pan with the bretzels into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until bretzels are to desired darkness
16. Remove them from the oven and transfer them to a grill until chill. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts are detailed in the table below. Data is provided per serving.