Turning Snow Day into Pretzel Day!

I love pretzels mostly soft Annie Anne's and from some  random bakery in Lancaster that I went to last spring for a field trip. The only problem is Annie Anne's pretzels are expensive and the ones for Lancaster I'll probably never have again and will never find the place again.

So, I decided that it was time to make my own. And boy, I'll never go back to frozen store pretzels! The only thing is that I felt that they need A LOT more butter and perhaps 1 tablespoon more of sugar.

Here's the recipe:

The dough:

1 1/2 cup of warm water

1 packet or 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup bread flour

3 cups all purpose flour

Baking Soda/Water Solution:

4 cups water

4 tablespoons baking soda

"Glaze"
Melted butter

Dissolve yeast, sugar, and salt in warm water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Mix in flour. Turn mixture onto floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Lightly grease a bowl and turn down in it to coat. Place towel or plastic wrap over dough and let rise for 1 hour. Turn dough out and cut into 12 stripes. Roll them into 3 foot long pieces and twist. Let sit. Boil water and baking soda and one at a time, place pretzels in water until they float. Repeat until all pretzels are done. Coat with plenty of butter and sprinkle kosher salt* on. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

I think this was my most successful venture into making bread. When I make bread my loaves are dense and I was afraid that this would be as well.

*Get creative with what you put on it. Try garlic salt, and cinnamon and sugar.