Pretzels

Makes 8 pretzels

Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 (1 packet) instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup warm water*

Topping:
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
3 tablespoons melted butter
Coarse salt or Cinnamon & Sugar

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the fough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat you oven to 500 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twisgt each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Then sprinkle on the kosher salt or cinnamon and sugar and ENJOY!

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhre in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.