My German Heritage Recipes - Soft Pretzels

What would Oktoberfest be without pretzels?  For most folks, it's pretzels and beer!  Since, as a Christian, I don't drink beer; I choose to have either a non-alcoholic beer or a soft drink with my pretzels.  Either way, those German Soft Pretzels are a treat!  So, let's get right to the recipe:

Farmer Boy Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon - instant dry yeast
• 1 Tablespoon - sugar
• 1 teaspoon - table salt
• 2 Tablespoons - butter (softened)
• 1 Cup of water (115 degrees F.)
• 2 3/4 Cups of all-purpose flour
• Coarse salt (for a topping)
• 5 teaspoons of baking soda & 4 Cups of boiling water (combined as a pretzel bath)

Directions:

Place the yeast, butter and sugar into a large bowl.  Add the cup of water (115 degrees F.) and stir.  It will foam up as it sits for about 5 minutes.  Mix it into 1 cup of flour till the mixture is smooth.  Add the rest of the flour and stir.  When it becomes stiff, begin to knead until it is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands. Cover the bowl and let it rise, till doubled in size.  Prepare the soda bath for the pretzels.  When the dough has doubled, punch it down and knead for about a minute.  Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.  Roll each piece out to about 1/2 inch in diameter and about 12 inches in length.  Quickly form into the tradional twisted shape.  Set them aside to rest a couple minutes.  Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees F.  Drop a couple at a time into the boiling soda bath for 65 seconds on each side.  Take out of the bath by slotted spoon and place on a well-greased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake about 15 minutes, or till nicely browned on top.

Best served warm.  For an extra treat - dip each bite into a prepared yellow mustard.  You could also brush each pretzel with melted butter before adding the salt and baking.  If you do this, it may brown quicker and you might want to lower the heat a bit.  I've heard that a dip in ranch dressing is also good.  Experiment, and have fun with this recipe!

If you try this recipe, please take a minute and let us all know, by leaving a comment here.  Thanks.  The Old Man in the Bib Overalls