Who Doesn’t Like Soft Pretzels

These pretzels are delicious fresh out of the oven with some melted butter or cheese sauce, and they are pretty easy to make.

First, combine in a large bowl (if you have a stand mixer use its bowl, but if you are like me I just mix by hand) 1 ½ cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees), 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, the sprinkle 1 package of active dry yeast (or 2 ¼ teaspoons), let sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes frothy (begins to foam).

Add four ½ cups of all-purpose flour, and ¼ cup melted butter. Mix until well combined until dough is smooth and well combined. If mixing by hand you will want to pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface  and knead a few minutes with floured hands and sprinkling with a little four as you go to reduce stickiness.

Clean the bowl and coat it with non-stick cooking spray. Put the dough back into the bowl and turn it over so the oiled side comes to the top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place to allow the dough to rise for approximately an hour or until the dough has doubles in size.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, line two sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with vegetable oil or spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside. Bring ten cups of water to a boil and when it starts boiling add 2/3 cup baking soda.

 Meanwhile, turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and divide into eight equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a 24-inch rope. Form the rope into a U shape holding the ends of the rope, then twist and attach the ends at the bottom of the U shape to form the shape of a pretzel. Place them onto your oiled parchment paper on the sheet pan.

Place the pretzels carefully one at a time (your pan should be big enough to do two at a time) into the boiling water for 30 seconds, 15 seconds per side, then using a large spatula, return them to your parchment lined sheet pans (I always cut the parchment paper down close to the pretzels cause the excess paper tends to burn in the oven). Mix three egg yolks with three tablespoons water and brush each pretzel well with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with coarse kosher salt or pretzel salt.

Bake the pretzels until they are a dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving with butter or cheese sauce or whatever you like with your pretzels. Enjoy!