Soft Pretzel Rolls

I know I know...I have been away for some time but its almost the end of the semester so its crunch time. But I do have a treat for you..some yummy soft pretzel rolls topped with sesame seeds and poppy seeds. I wanted to do a pretzel recipe for some time and when I saw this recipe on Allrecipes.com I decided I would try it. The recipe calls for all purpose flour but I used bread flour since its high gluten content would give me the chewiness I look for in pretzels. When going through my ingredients I noticed I ran out of kosher salt so substitutions were in order...to top my pretzels I sprinkled some table salt and topped them with sesame seeds and poppy seeds. The pretzels proved easy to make up until it was time to shape them...I have a silpat-esque mat so that was helpful to roll them out but I couldn't really get the hang of shaping them. When I put my pretzels in the baking soda bath they took on another shape and that's how I ended up with twist instead of traditional pretzels...not a problem all yummy nonetheless. The texture and taste of these pretzels were divine. Slight crunch on the outside and chewy buttery goodness on the inside. I already planned to modify this recipe into rolls for Christmas. I hope that you all decide to give this recipe a try and get a taste of NY street cart style pretzels right at home.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•  
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.