Soft Pretzels

Well we had a quite and long Sunday afternoon following Stake Conference so I decided to bake! I had printed off this recipe last week, but just picked up the kosher salt required this week so I was excited to give them a try. They were certainly easier than I expected. The longest part was letting them rise, but the rest went fairly quickly. They were delicious! Soft in the middle but chewy on the outside. Both Greg and I give them two thumbs up! I think next time it'd be yummy to try some toppings on them. Perhaps cinnamon sugar, cheese or just garlic/herbs. Also I might try shaping 12-16 smaller ones rather than 8 jumbo ones. Enjoy!
Soft Pretzels From Annie's Eats
Yields 8 large soft pretzels

For Dough:
1 1/2 c warm water
1 TBSP sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
4 1/2 c flour
4 TBSP melted butter
Vegetable oil, for greasing bowl

For Finishing:
5c water
1/3 c baking soda
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 TBSP water
Kosher salt

Directions:
To make dough combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl of mixer. With mixer paddle on mix on low speed to dissolve. Add in flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together. Switch to dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough in smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil, turning the dough once in it to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place, about 50 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 450. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray (or just spray the baking sheet without parchment paper). Bring water and baking soda to boil in large saucepan. In the meantime, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll a segment out into a 24-inch long rope. Make a U-shape with the rope and holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and onto the bottom of the U-shape in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and return to the baking sheet. Once all the pretzels have been boiled, brush the tops with the eggs wash and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake in preheated oven until dark golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Note- You can also freeze the shaped pretzels, then boil and bake them from the freezer. Just add a little longer to the boiling and baking times.