Home made Soft Pretzels

What have I been doing during this quarantine time, you ask?  Baking, baking and more baking.  I'm planning on getting everyone here to gain some weight.  I think it might be working.

I thought I would try making Soft Pretzels again.  I used to make these back in the day (before kids) and now I'm wondering why I never made these when the kids were little?  They aren't really difficult to make.  The sad part is, they don't last very long.  The batch that I made lasted less than 24 hours.  That might be a record for home made soft pretzels. 

These are great to eat plain or, if you are feeling adventurous, you can try them with mustard or a cheese sauce. 

Enough talking, let's get down to baking these pretzels....

Here's the recipe:

Home Made Soft Pretzels

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet dry/instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP butter, melted
3 3/4 cups - 4 cups all purpose flour
coarse sea salt

1/2 cup baking soda
9 cups water

directions:
Whisk yeast into water with a little sugar and allow to proof.
Whist in the rest of sugar, salt and butter.
Add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough is thick.  Add 3/4 cup (or a little more) until the dough is no longer sticky.  When you poke the dough with your finger and it bounces back, it is ready to knead.

Place dough on floured surface and knead for 3 minutes.
Shape into ball and cover with towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
Get water and baking soda boiling.
Preheat oven to 400F and line 2 cookie sheets with silicone baking mats.

Cut dough into 1/3 cup sections.
Roll dough into 20-22" rope.  Take ends and bring them together so dough forms circle.  Twist ends and bring them towards yourself and press them down into pretzel shape.

Put baking soda and water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Drop 1-2 pretzels into boiling water for 20-30 seconds.  Use a slotted spatula to lift pretzels out of water, making sure to drain excess water off pretzel.  Place pretzel on baking sheet. 
Sprinkle each pretzel with coarse sea salt. 
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Remove from oven and serve warm.

Pretzels can be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 3 days.

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*This recipe makes about 12 pretzels
*Can be served alone or with mustard or cheese sauce. 

If you make the Soft Pretzels, let me know how they turned out!

Enjoy!