Make your own delicious soft pretzels!

I promised to post the recipe for the pretzels I made earlier and today I deliver!

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 1/2 - 5 cups all-purpose flour

Canola oil (to grease bowl)
3 quarts water (for bowling the pretzels)
2/3 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with one tablespoon water (for egg wash)
kosher salt or course sea salt (for pretzel tops)

How to make the pretzels:

Combine water, sugar, yeast and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with a dough hook until combined let sit for 5 minutes.  If you don't have a stand mixer you can use a regular bowl and spoon and a little arm muscle.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined.  Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough begins to pull away from the sides, about 3-4 minutes.  If the dough appears to be to wet add additional flour one tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and knead on a flat surface  into a ball with your hands.

Rub a light amount of canola oil on the inside of a large bowl, add the dough to the bowl and turn it over until the oil lightly covers the surface of the dough.  Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let sit for one hour in a warm spot.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the 3 quarts water to a boil in a large bowl

Divide the dough into 8 equal size pieces.  Roll each piece into a long rope, longer than you think, and shape into pretzel shapes.  Once you're done shaping your pretzels slowly add baking soda to the boiling water and boil each pretzel for 30 seconds.  The pot I used let me boil 2 pretzels at a time. Remove from boiling water and place 4 pretzels on a cookie sheet ,I lined mine with parchment paper, and then paint the egg wash all over the tops of the pretzels and sprinkle with kosher/course sea salt.  Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.  I had to turn my pan at the 15 minute mark to avoid hot spots from my oven. Let pretzels cool on a wire rack before digging in!

Enjoy your soft, delicious pretzels alone or with your favorite topping.