Soft homemade pretzels!

Warm, soft, cinnamon sugary goodness. I only had one packet of yeast, which contained about 2.5 teaspoons. So I changed the amounts for the other ingredients, yielding 6 pretzels. The measurements I used are in parentheses. The dough was difficult to work with, so I only rolled them out to about 2 feet. That made for smaller pretzels, but they were fat and chewy. I would probably add just a little more salt, I thought the dough itself could use a little more flavor. And when you butter the pretzel at the end, use unsalted butter. It collects in the crevices, and I could definitely taste the saltiness of the salted butter. Also, when you bake the pretzel, tuck the ends under the pretzel. Otherwise, they stick out, and just aren't as pretty. Not that it matters, if you eat it fast it enough.


AUNTIE ANNE'S copycat pretzels
Source: www.dininginthailand.com

1 1/4 cup warm water (1 cup minus 1 tablespoon)
1 TB plus 1/4 teaspoon yeast (one packet)
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (2.81 cups or 3 cups minus 3 tablespoons)
3/4 cup plus 2TB powdered sugar (2/3 cup)
1 1/2 tsp salt (1.125 tsp)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (1.5 tsp)
1 1/4 cups baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted (3 tablespoons)
kosher or pretzel salt

Bath: 4 cups warm water

Toppings:
Salted: Kosher or pretzel salt
Cinnamon Topping: 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or cup. Let sit for a few
minutes.
2. Combine flour, powdered sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water with yeast and vegetable oil. Stir with a spoon and then use your hands to form dough into a ball. Knead the dough for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface. (Dough will be nice and smooth when ready). Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover
it, store in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until dough rises to double in size.
3. When dough has risen, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Make a bath for the pretzels by combining the baking soda with the warm water
and stir until baking soda is mostly dissolved.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 even portions. Roll each portion on a flat non-floured surface until it is about 3 ft long. Pick up both ends of the dough and give it a little spin so the middle of the dough spins around once. Lay the dough down with the loop nearest to you. Fold the ends down toward you and pinch to attach them to the bottom of the loop. The twist should be in the miiddle.
6. Holding the pinched ends, dip each pretzel into the bath solution. Put each pretzel on a paper towel for a moment to blot the excess liquid. Arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. If you want salt, sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt or pretzel salt. DON'T salt any pretzels you plan to coat with cinnamon sugar. You will likely have to use two baking sheets and bake them separately. Bake the pretzels for 4 minutes and then spin the pan around and bake for another 4-5 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown.
7. Remove the pretzels from the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes. If you want to eat some now, brush them with melted butter first before serving.
7a. If you want the cinnamon sugar coating, make it by combining the 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush the unsalted pretzels with melted butter. Sprinkle a heavy coating of the cinnamon sugar on the pretzels over a large plate.


Makes 8 pretzels (6 pretzels with my measurements).