Buttery Soft Pretzels

fresh from the oven


I made these pretzels in the spur of the moment. Since we can't really buy pretzels anymore and I don't know where there's a vegan bakery that sells pretzels, the only solution would be to make them. The step that took the longest was waiting for the dough to rise, everything else was fast. Just a quick roll and an easy 8 minute bake. The perfect afternoon snack!

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Ingredients
Makes 12 Pretzels

* 4 tsp active dry yeast
* 1 tsp white sugar
* 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 5 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 tsp salt
* 3 Tb melted vegan butter ( I like Earth Balance )

* 1/2 cup baking soda
* 4 cups hot water
* 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping


Directions
1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the melted butter and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. If you do not have a warm area, preheat your oven to 150 F, turn off the heat, leave the door open for about 30 seconds, then put your dough inside and close the oven door.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
( To learn how to twist a pretzel, I watched this video. She did a good job at explaining and she starts twisting at about 2:50 minutes in )

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

5. Once finished, dip the hot pretzel in melted butter and coat with your favorite flavors.