Soft Pretzels

Kate wanted to make a treat for our regular babysitter today, and we chose pretzels. I, of course, will thank King Arthur Flour for the recipe. To help me rationalize away the ill effects of using an entire stick of butter for 16 pretzels, I subbed in half whole wheat flour. Tasty- these are soft and chewy.

Buttered Pretzels

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Pour all ingredients except flour into the bowl of a mixer. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, letting mixer run continuously. After adding the last half cup, let mixer run for 5 minutes to knead dough. The sides of the bowl should be clean and the dough should be smooth. Flour the dough, place in a gallon size zippered bag and let rest at room temp for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment then lightly spray with cooking spray (yes, both. This are sticky suckers.). Transfer dough to lightly greased work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Let dough rest while combining 1/2 cup warm water and 2 T baking soda in a shallow dish (I use a pie plate). Whisk to dissolve baking soda as much as possible- I can't get mine to completely dissolve but give it a good effort. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope, shape into pretzel shapes, and dip in baking soda mixture (I swirl it around to get a good coating). Place on baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Allow to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes. Brush with 3 T melted butter- use it all up and don't be stingy.