Soft Pretzels

We made these for Conference and they were so tasty and very soft inside, but nice and "pretzely" outside.  Just get someone to help you if you double it... my arms were so tired from rolling the dough!

Soft Pretzels

·         Yield: 12 pretzels

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Ingredients

·         1 and 1/2 cups warm water 

·         1 packet active dry or instant yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 Tablespoon brown sugar

·         1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and slightly cool

·         3 and ¾-4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

·         coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Baking Soda Bath

·         ½ cup (120g) baking soda

·         9 cups (2,160ml) water

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Instructions

1.     In mixer, whisk the yeast into warm water. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Whisk in salt, brown sugar, and melted butter. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix until dough is thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If it is still sticky, add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more, as needed. Poke the dough with your finger – if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.  Knead in mixer for 3 minutes. Cover with towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 6.)

2.     Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

3.     Pull off pieces of dough (a bit bigger than golf ball

4.     Roll the dough into a 20-22 inch rope (this should be quite thin – just barely thicker than a pencil, or your pretzels will be enormous). Shape into pretzel shape.

5.     Bring baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1-2 pretzels into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds. Any more than that and your pretzels will have a metallic taste. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.

6.     Bake for 12-15 minutes or until dark golden brown (don’t overbake or they’ll be dry, but let them get “pretzely colored” on the outside.

7.     Remove from the oven and serve warm with cheese sauce. Pretzels may be stored in an airtight container or zipped top bag for up to 3 days (they lose a little softness).

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Notes

1.     Freezing Instructions: Pretzels freeze well, up to 2 months. To reheat, bake frozen pretzels at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through or microwave until warm.

*Alternative: Instead of salt, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve with vanilla frosting.