soft pretzles!
Prep time: >2 hours
Bake time: >10 minutes
Yield: 12 large soft pretzels
Ingredients:
4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 and 1/4 cups warm water
5 cups all purpose flour
(do not sift the flour)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBSP. vegetable oil
Also needed:
1/4 cup baking soda
2 cups hot water
1/8 cup coarse kosher salt
Directions:
1. in a small bowl, dissolve yeast & 1 tsp. sugar in the warm water. Let stand until creamy/foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In large bowl, mix together flour, the 1/2 cup sugar & salt. Make a well in the center, add the liquid yeast mixture. Mix & form into a dough. If mixture is too dry, add water 1 TBSP at a time. Knead dough until smooth, takes 7-8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl & turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 F
4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water.
5. When risen, turn dough out onto lightly floured surface & divide evenly into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope 12-14 inches long and twist into pretzel shape. Once all the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place 6 pieces evenly on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes until browned.
