Oktoberfest Pretzel Pizza Recipe
This pizza dough springboards from our Easy Peasy recipe but uses longer fermentation and the baking soda wash to create the pretzel pizza crust!
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer Optional
- 1 Pizza Cutter
- 1 Basting Brush
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup water warm, between 100°F and 110°F
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt fine table salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Baking Soda Baste
- 1 tbsp Baking Soda
- ½ cup Water Nearly boiling
Pizza Toppings (except for the salt, all are optional)
- 1 tbsp salt course flake
- ½ cup Cheddar Cheese grated
- ½ cup pizza sauce optional - 2 tbsp of olive oil can be used instead for pizza bianca version
- 1 bratwurst precooked and sliced
- 1 tbsp mustard coarse grain or Dijon are likely preferred over yellow
Instructions
Making the Pizza Dough
- Ensure your 1 cup of water is between 100-110 F. Hotter water will kill your yeast, and colder water will make it take much longer to activate.
- In a medium bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon of yeast in the 1 cup of water. Whisk and let stand for 5 minutes to ensure the yeast is active and alive.
- Slowly add 1 cup of flour, incorporating it into the dough.
- Add the fine salt to the dough and continue to mix.
- Add 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, reserving 0.5 tablespoons to oil your pizza pan. Continue to mix.
- Add the final 1 1/2 cup of flour and continue mixing. The dough should be solid and not too sticky to work with your hands. If necessary, add small amounts of additional flour until you can work the dough without it pulling apart sticking to your hands.
- After all the ingredients are incorporated, cover with a damp cloth for 1 hour.
- If you are going to use a bratwurst, cook it now either on a grill or in a frying pan. It will likely be better if you poke it with a fork to let excess oil escape rather than end up in the pizza. Allow to cool and then slice.
Prepare to Cook the Pizza
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Lightly oil your pizza pan to help avoid sticking.
- Now that the dough has rested for an hour, lightly oil your hands and press the dough into a circular shape onto a pizza pan. Try not to press the air out of the crust (especially not the edges). Because of the fermenting time, the dough should be very easy to stretch by hand. But if you are using a rolling pin, do not let it touch the edges - otherwise the crust will not keep its pretzel shape.
Baking Soda Application
- Add the baking soda to the 1/2 cup of water before heating the water.
- Warm the water/baking soda in a pot or the microwave to near boiling (>180 F). Hotter water is closer to the proper baking soda bath a pretzel would normally have and will evaporate faster in the oven.
- Use a basting brush to liberally coat the entire pizza in the baking soda water. Start at the crust edge and make sure you cover it enough that the dough is glistening. Move to the center and continue to apply liberally.For good measure, apply a second coating to the outer edge of the crust.
- Place the pizza and pan in the oven for 5 minutes (this is parbaking).
- Remove the pizza pan from the oven. Keep the oven on.
- Using the basting brush, reapply the water to the crust edge only.
- Add the coarse grain salt flakes to the crust and gently press the salt flakes into the dough so that they will stick.
- Top with the other pizza toppings you've chosen, such as the bratwurst, cheddar cheese, pizza sauce, and/or mustard.
- Bake for an additional 18 minutes the pretzel crust has turned brown. You'll likely want to rotate the pizza in the oven halfway to ensure even cooking.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and let stand for at least 3 minutes. Prepare any dips you might serve with the pizza, such as mustard, cheese dip, or caramel.
- Cut and serve!
Notes
Nutritional facts are for one full pizza with all of the optional toppings included.
Nutrition
Calories: 2032kcalCarbohydrates: 240gProtein: 70gFat: 87gSaturated Fat: 27gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 42gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 12223mgPotassium: 1169mgFiber: 11gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1120IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 522mgIron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!