by Linda L Kinyon

Created on: July 08, 2008   Last Updated: May 05, 2011

Remember that trip to the fair or the baseball game where you sat down and saw the person near you eating one of those huge pretzels with the salt and perhaps mustard? Your mouth began to water and suddenly, you had to have one. Do you remember how good it smelled? How could you resist them?

Soft pretzels have long been a family favorite of ours. Whenever my kids go to a fair its one of their favorite treats. I wanted to recreate that feeling at home so I explored a lot of pretzel recipes over the years in search of "the perfect home made pretzel". Here is our favorite recipe very similar in flavor to those served at the fair and the games my guys love to attend.

Mix Together:

1 Tablespoon Yeast
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Cups Warm Water
1 Cup Flour

Sift together 4 Cups flour and 1 Tablespoon of salt set aside.

In large bowl, stir yeast, sugar and warm water.
Let rest til yeast is dissolved and is a little foamy.
Stir in 1 cup flour. Then rest of flour mixed with the 1 Tbl salt.
Knead on lightly floured surface til smooth.
Place in oiled bowl, rolling around til all oiled.

Cover and let rise till doubled in size.

Remove and knead again just a little bit, gently.
Cut into 16 pieces, roll each pieces.into 14" ropes, shape into pretzels and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for about 15 minutes.

While you are waiting for your pretzels to rise, prepare a pot of boiling water with 1 teaspoon of baking soda (optional). Gently drop each pretzel into boiling water and boil 1 minute. Gently remove your pretzel with a slotted spoon and place on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat with each pretzel.

Gently brush each pretzel with egg wash (1 egg beaten with fork) and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt if desired.

Bake in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or just plain for a tasty delight.

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