top ten favorite foods: pretzel power!

there are really very few foods on this planet that can top pretzels.  they can be small and crunchy right to the center, or big and puffy and soft with just the right crust on the outside.  no matter what, these little salty guys make it on my top ten favorite foods list.  and, knowing my love of food, thats saying a lot!

the other day, when my friend beth asked if i wanted to make soft pretzels (what a silly question to ask me, right?), i nearly jumped out of my skin.  i realized that i had never actually made them before!  i eat them with such frequency, yet they have never come out of my own kitchen.  i was so very excited for this opportunity :)

can you resist these beauties?

they are about the easiest thing to make and here's what you need:
-1 package of dry active yeast
-1 1/2 tbsp. sugar (to feed the yeast!)
-1 1/2 c. warm water
-1 tbsp. salt
-4-5 cups of flour
-1 egg
-coarse salt

first thing's first, dissolve the packet of yeast in a big bowl with the 1 1/2 cups of warm water.  like i mentioned in my last post about the kanelbullar, the yeast is ALIVE so make sure not to use hot water or you will kill it!   once dissolved, add the sugar to feed the yeast and stir again.  this is your yeast base!  add the salt and make sure everything is dissolved well in the mixture or your dough may not rise!

next comes the flour.  you can use white flour or a mixture of white and wheat, whichever you prefer.  we had white on hand so that's what we used!  slowly, about half a cup at a time, stir in the flour to the yeast mixture with a fork.  the fork does two things: doesn't mash the flour around like a spoon would (making the dough really tough!), but it also fluffs the flour through the wet mixture better than a spoon would.  add enough flour (4 or 5 cups!) until the dough forms a ball like this!  knead the dough for a good 5 minutes until it comes together with no lumps and bumps.

**don't let this rise!** this is not the time for your dough to rise (quite yet) so work semi-quickly and start to shape your widdle pwetzels. we made 10 big pretzels out of this dough, but you can make them bigger or smaller depending on your needs.  

take a piece of dough and roll/stretch it out in to a long rope.  make this thinner than you think you need to because the dough will rise and expand!

now to twist your pretzel, either 1) go to auntie anne's pretzel university, or 2) watch this kind of terrible video... and voila!  you'll get these:

once you twist your pretzels, let them rest under a tea towel for about 20 minutes and they will proof.  the puffed pretzels then get a coat of egg wash (one egg and a little bit of water), and coarse salt right on top!

the little fatties go into the oven at 425 for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the tops are perfectly golden brown and delicious. 

mmmm, they are good for you.

here is the final product!  eat them with yellow mustard and nom to your heart's content :]  skål!