There is something very special about a nice big soft pretzel with the twists, salty crust, sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese or cinnamon sugar. They can be eaten as baked, or dipped in dipping sauces or mustard. The best thing about soft pretzels is that you can eat some, and leave the rest for later. All you have to do is heat it up a bit, and they are once again soft and chewy and a delicious treat anytime, anywhere.

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[edit] Ingredients

Makes 6 large or 12 small pretzels.

3 1/2 C (1/2 kg) of flour
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. (12 g) salt (sea salt preferably)
1 Tbsp. (12 g) yeast, dissolved in 1 C (237 g) water that's fairly warm but not hot (120°F, 49°C)

The following ingredients are for coating the pretzels before baking (step 7-8):

1 Tbsp. (14 g) baking soda dissolved in 1 C (237 g) boiling water
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl
(Optional) Vegetable Oil see tips...

[edit] Steps

Mix brown sugar, salt, and the yeast and water mixture in a food processor or a large mixing bowl. Add flour and mix until the dough is smooth. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour. If possible, let the dough sit overnight in a plastic container in the fridge. NOTE: the dough will rise overnight by as much as a third, so be sure to use a large enough container!
Divide the dough into 4, 6 or 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope. If you're working with 12 pieces, make the ropes very thin, a little bigger than a pencil. If you're making 4, you can roll them to about cigar thickness and 36 inches (almost a meter) long.
Shape a single rope into an upside down "U" on your table. Bring the ends together and twist them as shown.
Bring them to the top of the pretzel. Flatten the ends with your fingers and press in the dough to secure, making it look like a pretzel. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
Repeat the previous two steps with the remaining pieces of dough and place them on the cookie sheet, too.
Allow the pretzels to raise for 30 minutes -- until they've about doubled in size.
Brush with the water-soda solution. Or, for a chewier crust, mix 2 Tbsp. (24 g) baking soda with 4 C (1 kg) boiling water and drop the pretzel in there for about the count of 10 and then lift out with a strainer or pancake turner.
Brush the pretzels with the egg and water mixture. This gives the pretzel a nice, shiny glaze. Then sprinkle with toppings like:

• coarse salt (see Tips below)

• garlic and Parmesan cheese

• Cinnamon and sugar

• sesame seeds
Bake in a pre-heated oven 400° to 450° F (225° C) for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned. Carefully remove from the oven and place on a sheet of aluminum foil to cool.

Then serve

[edit] Tips

Make your own coarse salt by putting rock salt in a coffee grinder and then sieving.
Koshering or just 'Kosher' salt also works fairly well
If you want to freeze, bake until light brown, freeze, and microwave until warm, about 45 sec.
If you want to have a nice greasy pretzel like the ones down at Auntie Anne's, spread some vegetable oil on the pretzel after the egg-glaze dries and before you bake it.
If you don't feel like waiting overnight, the dough will rise in about 2-3 hours if you put it somewhere warm, say, on a sunny, hot porch; or a recently used, slightly warm oven.

[edit] Warnings

Do not use too much flour, and do not overcook the pretzels.
Some rock salt contains calcium chloride or other contaminants, be sure you are using food-grade rock salt.