Monday Munchies: Pretzels

I ♥ pretzels. The kids ♥ pretzels. I have tried a bunch of recipes and have one that I use all the time, but a friend posted a link to this recipe for Auntie Anne's pretzels last week, so I had to try it out. I don't know who Auntie Annie is (must be a regional thing in some region other than Connecticut) but her pretzels are pretty darn good. I didn't manage to snap a picture because they were all gone in the blink of an eye.

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels

1 1/2 C. warm water
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast (1 1/2 pkg.)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/8 tsp salt
1 C. bread flour
3 C. regular flour
2 C. warm water
2 Tbsp baking soda
To taste, coarse salt
2 – 4 Tbsp butter (melted)

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often.

After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again. Bake in oven at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

* Ok, I found this dough to be very hard to roll out to shape into pretzels, so I pinched off small balls and rolled them and made pretzel bites. I dunked them in the baking soda bath for about a minute a piece, and used a larger pot, more water and baking soda, so that I could dunk about 8 at a time. I made three different types - regular with sea salt, cinnamon and sugar and asiago cheese (the asiago cheese were the biggest hit with everyone). I brushed all the pretzels with melted butter before cooking, and salted the regular ones prior to cooking as well. For the cinnamon/sugar and asiago pretzels, I brushed them with melted butter before cooking and in the last 5 minutes of cooking i brushed them again and sprinkled them with a cinnamon sugar mixture or placed a slice of asiago cheese on top. Next time, I will be making stuffed pretzels - spinach and feta topped with asiago for A and me; mozzarella and sauce topped with cheddar for the kids.