Mall Pretzles

This winter our family had to go a bit pioneer with our food. We didn't have too much money to spend on treats when grocery shopping so we used what we had: all purpose flour. The penny pinch drove me to find and develop the perfect pretzel recipe for that food storage flour. Yeast can be spendy but buy it in the bulk food section at Win-co and you'll save even more!

1 T package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt (I beg you to go and buy kosher salt, you'll love it)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, one cup at a time mixing until combined each time. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Douch should easily handled, but not stiff. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.

Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan.
After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope, to your desire thickness. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Don't be shy! This is very important. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.
Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar.

When forming the ropes, roll each one to about half the length you want, then set it aside while you roll the rest. By the time you get back to the first rope, it will have rested enough to roll further.