Sunday Blessings

I love Sundays. Sundays for me are a day to casually clean house, sew, nap or try a new recipe.  I really feel like Sunday's are my day.  I always feel incredibly blessed on Sundays.  As I am cleaning or cooking or just sewing or relaxing, I am always reminded in these quite moments how blessed I am. :)

Today, I decided to try making home made soft pretzels.  Now, we buy these all the time, and they are an item that I have wanted for a LONG time to try to make at home.  

I finally decided to take the plunge today.  I honestly figured they would turn out somewhat since I have worked with a lot of dough in my day.  But, they turned out even better than I expected!  Love it when that happens!

I have found several recipes over the years for these and had held onto several from all kinds of sources for when the bug hit me to make these.  

Here is the recipe I went with:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil
• 3 quarts water
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• Egg wash (1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water)
• Coarse salt

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. 
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
4. Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil.
5. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
7. Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.
8. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. 
9. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. 
10. Roll each piece into a long rope and shape into the lengths or shapes that you want (sticks are easy and tasty).  
11. Boil the pretzels in the water solution in batches. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. 
12. Place pretzels on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. 
13. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. 
14. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
15. Add additional toppings immediately after they come out of the oven.