Soft & Chewy

Every Lent Mom, my sisters (including a few sister in laws) and I make pretzels for our families to enjoy.  Last Friday as I was thinking about what I was going to make for dinner, it dawned on me that I had not yet made pretzels this season.  Well with Lent more than half over, I had better hop to it. I found this recipe, tweaked it a bit and got to work.  BAP and SSP gave me a double thumbs up as they tried one (thank you for being Mommy's taste testers).

Pretzel Twists
adapted from: http://www.justataste.com/homemade-soft-pretzel-twists-recipe/

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 T sugar
2 t kosher salt
1 T yeast
4 1/2 cups flour
4 T butter, melted (plus 2 cubes)

Combine all ingredients together (except for 2 cubes of butter) in a stand mixer; mix together for about 5minutes until soft dough forms.  Set aside in a greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least an hour (mine was closer to 2 or 3). Cut into 24 even chunks.  Roll each chunk into a long snake.  Twist and shape how you would like your pretzels to look.  Do this 24 times. Place on parchment paper. Preheat oven to 450.  Meanwhile bring 10cups of water mixed with 2./3 cup baking soda in a saucepan. Boil. Using a slotted spoon or spider place 1 pretzel into the water. Submerse for 30 seconds.  Remove and place back on the baking sheet. Repeat.  Bake for 10-12minutes (these pretzels brown quickly). Watch them carefully. As the pretzels bake, melt 2 cubes of butter (I used 1 salted and 1 unsalted). Brush pretzels immediately when they come out of the oven.  Let rest and soak up all the butter. Remove from sheets and store in an airtight container once they are cooled.