Homemade Pretzels

I don't have the sweet tooth many people do however I have a carb tooth (or maybe 2). I cannot get enough of bread, rolls, biscuits, crescent rolls, and pretzels (especially the soft one's). Every time I go to the mall I have a battle between my mouth and my wallet as a pass the auntie ann's pretzel store.. so this Thanksgiving I decided to entire my two older nieces by making homemade pretzels. Very easy and VERY delicious I don't think any were left the next morning. The recipe we used was from the Food Network's Alton Brown whom I have a mild obsession with one because he is from Atlanta and two because he makes cooking fun and three he teaches you all the cool sciencey things behind it! What more could you want? So here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Penny being good and not eating the flying dough. 

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan. 

We let the girls each have a section and make their own designs rather than doing the pretzels shapes (Much more fun!)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Eating dough while the pretzels cooked. 

Just to experiment we baked a couple without boil them in baking soda water and then didn't "puff" up as much or have the classic pretzel taste. So I would suggest not skipping this crucial step. 

Some of the girls creations - sprinkle with sea salt or topping of choice as soon
as they come out of the oven, or before the go in to bake.

Thumbs up for easy, fun, and delicious treats! Did I mention they were dairy-free?