Pretzel Heaven

Please, please don't disregard this recipe because of the multiple steps!
These pretzels were fabulous and a total crowd pleaser.


Yes, you have to let the dough rise and briefly boil them. However, when you pull these pieces of golden dough-y joy out of the oven and present them to your family/friends, I promise it will be totally worth it.

Another unnecessary worry I'd like to address: yeast. My mother is afraid of using yeast. It's totally crazy. Yeast takes care of itself. Add it to the dough, cover it, and go watch a movie.

The pretzels tasted most like Auntie Anne's (the pretzel stand in malls). The original recipe is here.

Soft Pretzels

3 1/4 cups flour
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups tepid water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup baking soda for boiling (note: you needn’t double this amount for a double recipe)
Pretzel salt (I used kosher, but it wasn't large enough, it all dissolved)

Mix together the flour and butter in a large bowl. Add the water and combine until it forms dough (it'll be a little sticky). Add the yeast to one side of the dough and the salt to the other. Work them into the dough.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place it in a oiled bowl (spraying it with non-stick spray is good enough) and cover it. Leave it somewhere safe for an hour.

The dough won't double in size like bread, but it should rise a little. Now remove it and place it on a floured surface. Cut into 8 pieces, roll into 8 balls, cover and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Muster up all your childhood Play-Doh rolling skills and roll the balls of dough out into 18 inch strips (or snakes!) I think it's easier to show you a picture of the pretzel motions rather than describe them.

Now let the pretzels rest on an oiled tray in the fridge for 2-24 hours (so you could do all those steps the day before if you wanted).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Fill a big pot up with water and heat it to a boil. Carefully add the baking soda and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Add the pretzels one at a time (they'll sink and gradually float up). Let them cook on each side for 20 seconds. Then set them back of the tray and let them drain.

Once all the pretzels are boiled, place on a greased baking sheet, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with pretzel salt.

Bake for 35 minutes or until brown.