Categories: Appetizers- Snacks
Ingredients
- Dough
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp. yeast
- 7/8 to 1 cup warm water
- (use more in winter, less in summer, somewhere in between in spring and fall)
- Or use canned biscuits (my own idea- and they taste good !)
- Topping:
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 Tbsp. baking soda
- coarse, Kosher or pretzel salt, optional
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Directions
-
Place all dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat until well combined. Knead dough, for about 5 minutes, until soft, smooth and quite slack.
-
Flour the dough and place in a bag. Allow to rest 30 minutes.
-
(Or separate canned biscuits, flour, and place in baking pan at least 1 inch apart, cover with plastic wrap. They don’t need to rest as long as dough, and can begin rolling into ropes, leaving others under cover until needed.)
-
While dough is resting, prepare topping: combine boiling water and baking soda stirring until the soda is totally dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm (or cooled).
-
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable spray or line with parchment paper, and spray parchment.
-
Transfer dough to a lightly greased work surface. divide into 8 equal pieces (about 2 1/2 oz. each) Allow to rest, uncovered 5 minutes. Pour baking soda water into a 9 inch square pan.
-
(just follow directions now using biscuits instead of dough.)
-
Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long) and twist each rope into a pretzel. Working with about 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over the tops, leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. The baking soda “bake” will give pretzels that nice golden-brown color.
-
Transfer the pretzels to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with course, Kosher, or pretzel salt, if desired. Allow them to rest uncovered, for 10 minutes.
-
Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.
-
Remove from oven. Brush thoroughly with melted butter. Keep brushing the butter until all is used.
-
makes 8 large pretzels
-
If desired, omit salt, and make a glaze of powdered sugar, and a few drops of milk, with almond extract to taste. Pretzels can be dipped, or drizzled in this topping. Or smear with peanut butter, jelly or any other topping you like.