Valentine's Pretzel Recipe

I actually had a few people ask for the soft pretzel recipe we used last week for our Valentine's activities. So, I thought I would just post it here. It's SO good and in my opinion, better than Auntie Anne's. I chose this recipe simply because it was the easiest I could find with lots of good reader reviews. Here is my version that has just a few modifications:

Ingredients:

2 T warm water, plus 1 1/3 C. warm water

1 package dry yeast

1/3 C brown sugar

5 C flour

1/2 C baking soda

Ground salt (table salt will not work here!)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2T warm water with the yeast to dissolve it. Then stir in the remaining warm water and brown sugar. Place bowl on mixer and using dough hook, gradually add flour and continue mixing until it forms a ball. Turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead the doug to make it smooth.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Bring 2 quarts of water and the baking soda to a boil in a stockpot. Cut dough into 7-8 pieces, rolling each piece into 1/2-inch (or so) thick worms. Form a U then cross the ends, twisting at the middle. Fold the ends back down to meet the U (which is now an O) and press to secure the dough. Drop it into the boiling water for 30 seconds then fish it out and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment (or you can use stoneware or a greased pan). Brush with a little butter (so salt will stick) and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown. While still warm, brush with butter as desired.

Because this makes 7-8 pretzels we take 1/2 (just before the butter stage) and put them in the freezer for future use.

Yum.