all knotted up

by pretzels.  The soft chewy pretzels with salt on top.  I've been making them and they are delicious.  It's really a good thing they take a bit of time to make, otherwise I'd probably eat them everyday. 

So, the recipe comes from homemade by Holman.  I only made one change - I  use melted butter instead of olive oil just to make them a little more ridiculous.  

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 cup water, at approximately 110 degrees

1 package rapid-rise yeast

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups bread flour

1 Tablespoon melted butter

For the boil:

6 cups water

3 Tablespoons baking soda

*Yup, fun fact, you boil a pretzel, like a bagel, but you had baking soda to the water, strange, but delicious. It gets very very bubbly...

For the toppings:

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Salt - the big crunchy sea salt variety please 

And various other toppings – I used onion flakes and ranch seasoning but you could also use a cinnamon sugar for a sweet treat.

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, and honey.  Let proof for 10 minutes.  Then add the remaining ingredients for the dough.

Mix on low speed until combined and then continue on low speed to knead the dough for another 5­ to 7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Coat a separate bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning to coat evenly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about one hour.

Punch the dough down, recover, and let rise another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line two large baking sheets with greased parchment paper or a slipat. 

Separate the dough into 12 pieces.

Roll each piece into a long string and twist into your desired pretzel shape.  

Turns out, I'm not so good at actually making the traditional twisted pretzel so I went with the circle "twist":

Meanwhile, in a shallow pot, bring water and baking soda to a boil over medium-high heat.

Next, transfer the pretzels, a few at a time to the boiling water and cook 30 seconds on each side. Drain and transfer to the prepared baking pan.

Brush with melted butter and top with salt and/or other toppings

Bake for approximately 12 to ­14 minutes until dark golden brown. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool and serve.

And enjoy.  They are so very delicious.

xoxo