Happy National Pretzle Day

Happy National Pretzel Day!

I honestly had no idea there was such a holiday until this afternoon when Rob saw the homemade soft pretzels I had made (which are my favorite) and said, "How did you know it was National Pretzel Day?" I guess he had heard it on the radio.
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So here are some fun facts about pretzels:

• National Pretzel Day is always April 26th
• Pretzels are believed to be the worlds oldest snack
• Pretzels date back to 610 AD in Southern France
• Monks baked thin strips of dough into the shape of a child's arms folded in prayer

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How do you like your pretzel?

Personally I like homemade soft pretzels the best. Here's my favorite recipe (and I've tried several):

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp.)
• approximately 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda (yes that's correct)
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• pretzel salt (or coarse salt)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approx. 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from bowl, clean bowl and the oil it with vegetable oil. Return dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in warm place for approx. 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Oil or spray baking sheets.

Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 16 equal pieces for smaller pretzels or 8 pieces for larger pretzels. Roll out each piece of dough into a long rope. Twist ends over each other and press onto the bottom of the U to form the pretzel shape.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large, flat spatula is drainage holes. Put pretzel on baking sheet and brush the top of each with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture. You can sprinkle with salt now or wait until baking is complete. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approx. 12 minutes. Cool on rack before serving.

Try dipping in mustard or brushing with butter and adding cinnamon and sugar.

ENJOY!