Living through Life (with interruptions): Have the Cake Challenge: Pretzels

Away from the sweet but still soft and delicious; that's what this month's challenge is for Have the Cake. I love a good pretzel and I could eat a dozen Aunt Annie's pretzels. Well, I've never eaten a dozen pretzels but I don't think it would be too hard if I put my mind to it!

I found this recipe for butter pretzels on the allrecipes web site. They weren't difficult to make and while it is a bit time consuming to make your own pretzels, it is certainly worth it. The only downfall to this recipe was that it only made a dozen. However, homemade pretzels do not keep well so maybe only making a fresh dozen is a good thing. Find the original recipe here

Buttery Soft Pretzels
adapted by vivian thiele

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
4 cups all-purpose flour (add up to five cups if needed)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon melted butter
coarse kosher salt for topping
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
2 tablespoons melted butter (to brush on top of pretzels when removed from oven)

Directions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the melted butter and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.