BEST HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

TOP REVIEWS:
Good recipe, though I replaced the oil with butter and used less flour. Another reviewer asked why the baking soda bath is necessary: Old world Germans used to dip their brezels (pretzels) in a solution of sodium hydroxide (lye) and water before baking. Lye is a very strong and caustic alkaline. Because most people arenāt comfortable mixing lye and water to make pretzels, baking soda ā a much weaker alkaline ā is now used in most pretzel recipes. Once the pretzels begin baking, a āMaillard reactionā occurs. This is a chemical reaction sortof like carmelization, which allows the exterior crust to become a deep rich brown color. The reaction accelerates in an alkaline environment, which ā you guessed it ā has been provided by the baking soda bath. The baking soda, and resulting reaction, is also responsible for the unique taste of a pretzel. Without the baking soda bath the pretzel exterior ends up pale/white, and taste more like bread. This baking soda / lye bath step is paramount in making a pretzel a pretzel.
I have gotten into baking breads, etc. since my wife bought a baking stone. This recipe is very good. The pretzels didnāt last long.
Hereās what I will do next time I make a batch:
After dividing the dough into 12 pcs., roll the dough out into a rope at least 20-24ā³ long. The dough will expand.
Spray āI Canāt Believe Its Butterā after I place the pretzels on the sheet and sprinkled coarse salt. I tried this on 3 pretzels from my first batch and they were better tasting.
Use a rack thatās up higher in the oven to prevent burning of the pretzels bottoms.
Make sure my wife stands over me to supervise.
WOW!! These pretzels are absolutely amazing. They were soft and chewy on the inside, awesome flavor, with that great authentic thin āpretzelā crust on the outside. I spooned the melted butter over them after baking which soaked in and was just perfect. My husband described them as āheavenlyā, haha, never heard him use that one before! Next time I will bake at maybe 415 or lower to keep them from being too brown before being done in the middle. Iāve been searching for a pretzel recipe and this one was much easier than most that I found. Tip: let dough rise in your oven, no heat, just turn on the oven light. Provides a draft free, warm place for dough to double flawlessly. Also use a damp kitchen town instead of plastic wrap to cover bowl and you wonāt have a dry crust to your risen dough. I do this with all of my bread recipes!
INGREDIENTS:
4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1½ c warm water
5 cups flour
½ c white sugar
1½ tsp salt
1 T olive oil
¼ c baking soda
2 c hot water
kosher salt
1-2 T butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, mix yeast and 1 tsp sugar with warm water. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes until mixture becomes foamy.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, ½ cup sugar, and salt. Add in oil and make a well in the center. Add in yeast mixture and use a mixer to thoroughly mix dough together. Add in an extra 1-2 T water if dough is too dry to work with. Knead for about 5 minutes (7 minutes by hand). Form into a ball and lightly oil ball. Place in large bowl and place a towel over top. Place in a warm area and allow to double in size.
In a medium bowl, mix baking soda and hot water together. Preheat oven to 450F ā¦