Soft Pretzels

I just made several batches of these yummy soft Pretzels. If you like the Mall pretzels or PretzelMaker then you need to taste these. They take a bit of time but are well worth it. We made it for our Primary Children's Activity where they learned that the shape represents folding our arms in prayer, and they scarfed them down....all 150 of them!
BUTTERY SOFT PRETZELS

INGREDIENTS: SERVINGS-12 large pretzels or 24 small ones

3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups very warm water (110 degrees F)

4-5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar ( a little less than ¼ C)
1/4 cup brown sugar ( a little less than ¼ C)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups really hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping (Or other flavors mentioned below)

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl mix together 2 cups of the flour, both sugars, and salt. Make a hole in the center and add in the oil and the yeast mixture. Add 2-3 more cups of flour gradually (one cup at a time). Mix and form into a dough, stop adding flour when it turns into a nice ball (not sticky). If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil the large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. The dough may be refrigerated at this point until ready to cook.

In a large square dish, dissolve the baking soda in 4 cups of really hot water…set aside.

After it has risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 or 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. (The longer the rope, the larger the pretzel.) Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution for 5- 10 seconds and then place on greased parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread tops with melted butter and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let rise another 15 minutes on the pan; meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake in oven on middle rack for 8-10 minutes, until browned; undercooking is better. Take out and brush more melted butter on tops and add more salt if desired. Let cool for 5-10 minutes if not eating, then store in tightly covered bowl or Ziploc bag.
Reheat in microwave for 10 seconds.

TIP: These pretzels are a bit sweeter than other types and are buttery. When finished, dip the hot pretzel in melted butter and coat with your favorite flavors…original, cinnamon sugar, nacho cheese, garlic butter, parmesan, strawberry or chive cream cheese. Enjoy!