Soft Pretzels: Aunt Anne's Style

The first thing I walk past in the mall is Auntie Anne's Pretzels.  It's so hard to resist the soft pretzels.  My husband and I love the original salted pretzel with sweet mustard dip but the other flavors are also irresistible (almond toffee crunch anyone?). 

The first time I tried to make pretzels (using a different recipe) the results weren't very appealing.  I didn't get the nice golden brown crust even after dipping the dough into a baking soda bath so something must have been missed.  Luckily this following recipe doesn't disappoint!

Soft Pretzels (10 - 12 pretzels)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups regular flour
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
to taste coarse salt
4 tablespoons butter (melted)

Directions:

1. Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve.  Add flour and mix for about 10 seconds with paddle attachment then change to dough hook.  Let KitchenAid Mixer knead dough for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
2. Meanwhile, lightly grease a large pot with olive oil.  (Don't forget to grease the sides!)  Then place the dough in the pot and cover.  Let the dough rise for 1 hour in a warm space in your kitchen. 
3. While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Stir until the baking soda has dissolved. 
4. After dough has risen, cut dough into 10 - 12 equal slices then roll each slice into a long rope* (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape.  *Tip: After slicing the dough, keep the pieces of dough that you're not working with back into the greased pot)*                                                                                         
5. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again for 15 - 20 minutes. Bake in 450 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle sea salt then enjoy!

Variations:

1. Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels: 

• Mix 1 cup of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon then sprinkle on top of buttered pretzel.  For icing dip mix 1 cup of icing sugar with 2 tablespoons of water!

I will be sharing this on:

A Southern Fairytale  

Just Something I Whipped Up

Recipe Adapted from CDKitchen.com