Buttery Soft Pretzels

Oh. My. Gosh. Stop going to the mall and buying those awesome pretzels. This recipe is simple to follow and doesn't take that much time to make. And, they rule! We make them more often than we should and eat them more quickly than is reasonable. Get the Kosher salt for these. So delicious. --Mark

Ingredients:

4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 T vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Instructions:

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

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil 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.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Notes:

DELICIOUS! And so buttery! 4 cups of flour, about a cup and a half of water (add as necessary to moisten dough). Let rise for a couple of hours. Brush with melted butter when it comes out of the oven to help keep it soft. YUM! We often make pretzel nuggets rather than full pretzels. You can make about 3 nuggets to each regular pretzel.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttery-Soft-Pretzels/Detail.aspx