Pretzel Focaccia
The recipe we didn’t know we needed all our lives! A delicious hybrid of soft pretzels and focaccia, which is really easy to make. You just need to plan ahead and start the night before. It’s got a delicious crust like a pretzel and really airy inside.
Tips:
The only note I would make is that it took almost two hours to proof today, so keep that in mind. Would be a great party dish!
There is a lot of waiting time, so don’t be discouraged from making this. With just a few. minutes of actual labor, you can have this delicious bread- go for a walk while it’s proofing.
Pretzel Focaccia
Recipe from Bon Appetit
Serves a ton of people
ACTIVE PREP 10 minutes
RESTING PREP Overnight + 2 hours
COOK 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
6¼ cups (780 g) all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. Morton kosher salt
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, plus 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp. vegetable or other neutral oil
2 Tbsp. baking soda
Pretzel or flaky sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Whisk flour, kosher salt, and yeast in a large bowl until well combined. Gradually add 3½ cups warm water a few big splashes at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon to incorporate, until a thick batter forms. Continue to stir aggressively for a minute or so to get any lumps out. Cover bowl and chill at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
Grease an 18x13" sheet pan generously with 1 Tbsp. cold butter, making sure every corner and side is covered. Drizzle oil onto pan and spread with your hands until every surface is covered.
Using a rubber spatula or plastic bench scraper, turn dough out onto sheet pan. Using your hands, gently spread dough in an even layer to edges of pan.
Place baking soda in a small bowl or mug and slowly pour ½ cup boiling water over, stirring to combine with a pastry brush. (Heads up: It’ll get foamy!) Generously brush entire surface of dough with baking soda solution; set aside remaining baking soda solution. Let dough rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, bubbly, and loose-feeling, which can take anywhere between 30 minutes to over 1 hour, depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the season.
Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 475°. Gently brush dough with reserved baking soda solution (you may not use it all). Bake 10 minutes. Rotate pan from front to back and brush focaccia with 3 Tbsp. melted butter; sprinkle generously with pretzel salt. Continue to bake until top is deeply browned (like a pretzel!) and underside looks browned and crispy when pried up with a spatula, about 10 minutes longer.
Let cool slightly. Using a fish spatula or other flexible metal spatula, release focaccia from pan and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely.