Mall Pretzels

I love Aunt Annie, I wished she wasn't so determined to make me gain weight. I have yet to find a good warm mall pretzel that I didn't love. My breadmaker has a wonderful recipe booklet in it and I think they are some of the best breads I make. Last night we were all wanting a treat and this was the result. While my pretzel twisting skills need practice for sure, they tasted amazing. I also thought the resulting heart shape would be cool for Valentine's Day coming up. It's close to making bagels because you boil the bread before you bake it to ensure the "rubbery" outside and tender inside. These babies were awesome. The nutritional value wasn't too shabby either if you are looking for a treat. I think if you used whole wheat flour mixed in instead of all white flour you would have even better for you results. Here is the recipe and the pics... wished you could get the smell that accompanied them, yummy!

Soft Pretzels

3/4 cup water 80-90 degrees

1 1/2 tsps salt

2 1/2 firmly packed brown sugar

2 cups plus 6 Tbsp bread flour

2 tsps yeast, active dry, instant or bread machine

Place ingredients in bread machine in order given. Select dough/pizza dough setting and small loaf size. Allow to mix, knead, and rise. When cycle is completed, removed dough from machine and transfer to floured surface. Divide dough into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin rope and twist into pretzel shape. Put on parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic and allow to rest 20 to 30 min. Place 2 inches of water in a saute pan, bring to a boil. Preheat oven to 425. In separate bowl add 2 cups of water and 2 Tbsp of baking soda, stir and reserve. Once pretzels have rested and water is at a boil, carefully slide each pretzel in one by one boiling for 1.5 min on each side. Transfer to cooling rack to drain. Dip each pretzel into the stirred baking soda solution and place back on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in oven until dark and golden, about 10 to 15 min. I added kosher salt before baking and it added a nice "bakery" touch.

Each 2 oz pretzel:

Cal 141

Fat 1

Carb 28

Pro 5

Fib 1