Homemade Soft Pretzels

These are super easy to make, require no rising time and you get to kneed dough! The recipe is from my mom and I'm pretty sure it's from the Motherhood and Applepie cookbook. Making pretzels seemed to be a common snow day activity along with baking cookies.

Begin with
1 packet of active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water

Add
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar

Gradually add 3-4 cups of flour (whole wheat or white or mixture of each)
Then kneed until smooth adding additional flour as needed.

Make pretzel shapes or letters or snakes. Similar thicknesses will bake more evenly.

Place pretzels on ungreased baking sheets.

Recipe calls for 1 beaten egg to be brushed on pretzels and then Kosher salt sprinkled on top. In the past I've used egg, egg whites only, and also just water.

Tonight we tried a different method. We used 1/2 cup of warm water mixed with 1 Tablespoon of baking soda and dipped the pretzels in the mixture quickly before going on the baking sheet. They instantly became more mushy due to the water. This step is another way to achieve the golden outside and it seemed to make them even softer on the inside.

After the dipping, we sprinkled with Kosher salt and baked normally.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes, cool on wire racks.

So delicious! Best eaten right out of the oven after a moment for cooling. Could easily be used for sandwiches too.