Hello Friends! Sorry for the very infrequent posting. I have been very busy studying and life, in general, has been very busy. The other day, I had a lazy evening with my husband. We relaxed on the couch with our cat and dog and watched some shows. Its been awhile since we were able to do that. One of the shows we watched that night was The Simpsons, more specifically, the episode when Marge buys a franchise for the Pretzel Wagon. I can tell you that I certainly craved a fresh pretzel after that episode! Without further ado:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoons of sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
1 egg, beaten
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt (Any coarse salt)
1 tablespoons baking soda
Directions:
- Combine sugar, yeast and water in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
- Add enough flour to make a smooth but sticky dough (I ended up with about 3 3/4 cup).
- Let dough rest in a greased bowl (Turned once to coat the dough with oil), covered for 45 minutes.
- Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.
- With each piece, roll dough into a long rope using a little flour to prevent dough from sticking to your hands and the work surface.
- Twist rope into a pretzel shape and transfer to an oiled parchment paper.
- Let the pretzels rest for 20 minutes, uncovered.
- While the pretzels are resting, bring water to a boil in a large pot and preheat oven to 425F.
- Carefully, using both hands, add pretzels to boiling water (2-3 at a time, do not overcrowd pot).
- Let pretzel boil for 1 1/2 minutes on each side and then remove and place back on the oiled parchment paper.
- Brush each pretzel with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt (OR skip salt and after baking, brush pretzels with melted butter and dip in cinnamon and sugar).
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until pretzels are golden brown.
- Let pretzels cool in a baking rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
ENJOY!!
Samina Cooks 