Pretzels-Hot Buttered Fluffy

By cmschnettler

Ingredients

• For the Dough:
• 12.5 oz all purpose flour (2.5 cups)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2.25 tsp instant yeast
• 7/8 to 1 cup lukewarm water (the amount used depends on the humidity in your kitchen)
• For the Topping:
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• vegetable oil for greasing the sheet pan
• coarse sea salt, for sprinkling OR
• cinnamon & sugar
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Details

Adapted from fifteenspatulas.com

Preparation

Step 1

Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix with the paddle attachment until somewhat combined (or just mix by hand with a wooden spoon). Change to the dough hook and knead on medium low for 5 minutes. The dough should feel soft and smooth, not sticky to the touch.
Lightly dust the dough with flour, then place in a ziploc bag and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Yes, really 500. Lightly grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil.
Remove the dough from the bag and place onto a lightly oiled countertop. Cut the dough into 8 pieces, and let rest for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, whisk to combine the warm water and baking soda and cook in the microwave for 1 minute (fyi it probably won't dissolve completely).
Roll each piece into a long rope, and shape into a pretzel (see the step-by-step photos on the blog post to see how to do this).
Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place onto the greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt or cinnamon & sugar, then let them rest for 10 minutes.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown. Brush the pretzels with the melted butter while they are hot out of the oven, so the bread can soak up all the buttery goodness. Mmm.
Enjoy while they are hot, and keep in mind these don't taste as amazing the next day. So yes, that means you should just eat all of them now =) Enjoy!