This time of the year, I have a tradition to make home made pretzels (with all kinds of different mustards and dipping sauces), and taste all the different pumpkin beers that come out. It's so fun to get together and have everyone make their own pretzels in the kitchen. It's even more fun to see how they all come out. Prettiest pretzel contest?! I might be a just a little bit competitive.
INGREDIENTS
Frozen yeast dough, thawed
1 egg, whisked in a small dish
Course salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Thaw the frozen yeast dough. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. With floured hands, roll dough into 18 inch length. Taking the two ends, place on a center on a floured bread board or counter top. Pull ends towards you, cross ends and overlap to opposite sides to form pretzel shape.
3. Let rise 20 minutes on floured board.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Used a slotted spoon or skimmer to gently lower the pretzels into the water, about 2 at a time depending on how big your pot is. Once the pretzels are in they should float to the top. Let them sit for 1 minute and then flip over to boil another minute. (extend the boil time to 2 minutes each side if you prefer a chewier pretzel).
5. Once you take the pretzels out, top with egg wash and course salt.
6. Once all pretzels have been boiled, transfer them to a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
