Do you know how and why the first pretzel was made?

Well, the German story tells that a baker was once put in prison for supplying bad bread to the people. After being detained for ages, the authorities had enough of the bakers laments, and so told him that if he could bake something good and new in which the sun could shine through three times, then they would set him free. The baker then came up with the pretzel and was set free because, sure enough, the sun light was able to shine through it three times.

Now, just because of their shape, don't think pretzels are hard to make. They are a great home activity that I am sure you will enjoy.

Pretzels make a great appetizer for informal occasions, for the kids, for that unexpected crowd that your husband brought home to watch the game, or just for a fun snack at any other time.

This is the easiest and best soft pretzel recipe that I have tried out. Pretzels always come out chubby, soft, tasty and amazing. They are wonderful to eat and fun to make.

Ingredients For 8 "Healthy Size" Pretzels

• 1 cup of water
• 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose-flour
• 1 Tbsp of sugar (I use brown sugar, but either is fine)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 Tbsp of active dry yeast
• 1 ounce of unsalted and melted butter (about 2 Tbsps)
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of baking soda
• 8 more cups of water
• 1 egg yolk
• Pretzel salt

• Using a mixer, mix the water (luke warm), the sugar and the salt (until the two latter are completely dissolved).
• Add the yeast and stir softly (get rid of any yeast lumps by pressing them on to the sides of the bowl). Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes in order to get the yeast working (you can tell the yeast is ready when the mixture starts to foam and produce little bubbles).
• Add the flour and the butter (make sure you sprinkle the flour over the mixture, as it will be easier to mix than if you add it in a big pile).
• Using the dough attachment on the mixer, mix on the lowest speed until it is all neatly combined (until you can't see separate ingredients anywhere).
• Now change the speed to medium and let it work the dough until you can see clearly that it pulls off from the bowl (it takes around 5 minutes). If the mixture is still gooey and does not pull off from the bowl, then add a Tbsp of flour at time and keep on steering until the consistency is right (1 Tbsp should do it).
• Grease a separate bowl with the oil and put the dough in it. Make sure the bowl is large enough so the dough won't spill over when it rises. Cover it with cling wrap and let it sit somewhere warm for an hour (near the stove, but make sure it does not catch on fire. Or even in the oven, turned off naturally).
• After the hour, when the dough is nice and big. Mix the 8 cups of water and the baking soda in a shallow pan. Bring them to a boil and then turn the heat off.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C)
• Meanwhile, grease a work surface with some oil and place the dough on it (make sure you grease your hands a little as well). Roll the dough into a think rope about the length of your forearm (the length from the tip of your middle finger to your elbow). Divide it into 8 more or less equal size pieces.
• Roll out each piece into a thin rope, about as long as your forearm and a half.
• Make a u-shape with the rope. Then twist the ends along each other once or twice (whatever is easiest for you). Fold them towards yourself and press each end on to the dough that is forming the base of the u-shape. Make sure these ends are securely pressed or they will loosen later when you drop them in the boiling water.
• Place the pretzels on a greased baking sheet (or lined with parchment paper).
• Drop each pretzel carefully, one by one, into the boiling water for around 50 seconds (counting), and place them back on the baking sheet.
• Mix the egg yolk with 1Tbsp of water and brush each pretzel with this mixture. Sprinkle each one with the pretzel salt (thick salt).
• Place in the oven for about 12 minutes. Make sure they are golden brown before taking them out.
• Let them cool for about 10 minutes, no more, as they are great to serve warm and fresh. (I put them on a cooling rack to cool, as it helps avoid the bottoms getting a bit soggy from their own steam)

Beer and mustard are always great company for pretzels.

A fun idea is to serve little dip dishes of different kinds of mustard along with a tray of pretzels. Try some honey-mustard, Dijon, regular mustard...

If you make smaller pretzels and set them out with a nice cheese platter, it would just give them a complete new look.

I encountered a German breakfast once, consisting of pretzels and mustard, bratwurst, sauerkraut and beer. My husband enjoys it from time to time for brunch or lunch even.

There is always different things you can try out with home made pretzels. Here are a few fun suggestions:

1. You can divide the dough into smaller pieces and make more pretzels of a smaller size (they will take less to bake).
2. Try out different shapes. If you are in a hurry, simple sticks are the way to go.
3. Sprinkle the pretzels with a mixture of salt and sesame seeds. Or only sesame seeds, or even some Parmesan cheese.

4. If you want to freeze them. Bake the pretzels and let them cool completely. Place them in the freezer in Ziploc bags. Then just take them out before hand, let them defrost and warm them up in the oven or microwave.

IMPORTANT: Please know that our written work is licensed under the Creative Commoms Copyright License which states that you may NOT use it as your own.