Soft Pretzels

All I can say is YUM! My mom used to make soft pretzels all the time when I was younger... and I really wanted to make some that would mimic her recipe as closely as possible. The thing is, she had her stand mixer to make them... I'm not as lucky! My search for a hand-mixable soft pretzel recipe brought up the following... it wasn't as good as hers, but it's pretty close!



Soft Pretzels.
www.allrecipes.com
32 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water
coarse salt

DIRECTIONS

-In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
-Add sugar, salt, butter and egg. Stir in 3 cups of flour; mix until smooth.
-Add enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Cover bowl tightly with foil; refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
-Punch dough down and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, cut each half into 32 equal pieces.
-Roll each piece into a 20-in. rope. Shape into the traditional pretzel shape and place on a greased baking sheet.
-In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and water; brush over the pretzels. Sprinkle with salt if desired.
-Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 25 minutes.
-Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until brown.

**Modifications: I used Egg Beaters and light stick margarine. Nutritional info is based on those modifications

NUTRITION INFO

Calories 117.3
Total Fat 1.1 g
Cholesterol 6.2 mg
Sodium 573.5 mg
Potassium 39.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 23.2 g
Protein 3.0