Homemade Soft Pretzels

Do you like the pretzels in the mall or at Sam's club? If so, here is a recipe you might enjoy. My children love to help me make this recipe that my daughter brought home after making it in her Home Ec. class. It is a fun family activity! My children have a blast making the snakes, buttering with the brush, and thinking up pretzel toppings instead of only salt. Their favorite is cinnamon sugar. These are best made in a small batch and eaten hot & fresh right from the oven. I'll rewrite the ingredients below and the method is shown above. It's a fairly standard method for commonly used for making breads or rolls. If I need to type out more information then what I have please let me know in the comments & I'll update it. Let us know how it turns out if you'd like. I hope it is fun and simple!

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast

1 1/3 cups warm water (105 - 115 degrees F)

1 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 1/2 - 4 cups unsifted, all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 Tbs water

2 Tbs course ground salt

Basic Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease 2 large baking sheets.

In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water; dissolve.

Gradually add in sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and about 3 1/2 cups flour until the dough is soft and sticky.

Turn dough onto a floured surface; Knead about 5-7 min. Add up to 1/2 cup flour as needed. Dough should be smooth now and not stick to board.

Cut dough in half and then into 6 pieces. Flour your hands and roll dough into snakes. Place snake on baking sheet. Fold to form a pretzel shape.

In small bowl, mix egg and Tbs water; brush on pretzels. Sprinkle with salt. Other sprinkle ideas include cinnamon sugar, lemon or orange zest or herbs like Italian blend, garlic or dill weed.

Bake 15-20 min. until lightly golden brown. Warm is best! Makes about 12.