Pretzels!

Better than mall pretzels

So, I made pretzels today for mine and my husbands movie day. They were great and much better than the mall or movie pretzels. I find it's always better to make your own of something than buy it, if you have the time. :) This was my first time making pretzels, but I had heard awesome things about this recipe, so I had to try it out. I try a lot of new recipes from AllRecipes and then make them my own with a few changes. Here's my recipe:

Prep Time: 2 hours            Cook Time: 12 minutes               Ready in: 2 hours 12 minutes           Servings: 8-12

Ingredients

4 teaspoons active dry yeast (2 packets)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups warm water

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let it stand until creamy, around 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel, place in the oven (it should be off), and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, until browned.

before baking

All finished