Soft Pretzels

U Cook Across the U.S.! Join host Carrie Shankweiler and her ATV friends as they show you how to make a twisted snack! It's a Pennsylvania original -- the Soft Pretzel. Don’t forget the mustard!

MATERIALS

One package yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
Kosher salt for sprinkling on baking pan surface
Greased baking pan
Stove pan
Baking soda
Mustard

TOOLS

Slotted spatula
Cooling tray
Paper towels
Mixing bowls
Large mixer
Kitchen towel

REMEMBER THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS COOK UNDER ADULT SUPERVISION. SOMETIMES WE USE OBJECTS THAT COULD BE HARMFUL, LIKE A KNIFE, SO DON'T EVER ATTEMPT TO DO THESE RECIPES ALONE.

1. Pour 1/4 cup of warm water into the mixer, followed by your yeast.
2. Stir the yeast around and let it dissolve for a minute or so.
3. Pour the rest of your water into the mixer, followed by your brown sugar.
4. Turn the mixer on and mix everything together on high speed until everything is dissolved.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to slow and start to add the flour to the mixture a little bit at a time as it continues to mix. Let everything keep mixing until the dough starts to hold together. Increase the speed slightly if you have to.
6. Turn your mixer off. Take some flour and sprinkle it over your counter top. Spread it around with your hands and be sure to get some on your hands so the dough won’t stick to them when you work with it.
7. Bring your dough out of the mixer onto your floured counter. Knead it by pressing into it with the heel of your hand, folding it, and turning it around. Keep repeating this process (heel, fold, turn…) for about five minutes.
8. Once your dough is kneaded, cover it with a kitchen towel.
9. Sprinkle your Kosher salt onto your greased baking pan. This will keep your pretzels from sticking to them in the oven.
10. Time to make the pretzels! Sprinkle some more flour onto your counter top. Lift the towel from the dough. Pinch off a ball of dough from the mass and start to roll it like clay into a snake. Press a little hard on the dough to work with it. It will stick to your hands less that way.
11. Take the two ends of your dough snake, bring them up, and cross them over each other onto the dough to make a pretzel shape. Press the ends into the dough so the pretzel won’t come apart.
12. Carefully place the pretzel onto your baking pan. Repeat steps 10 and 11 until you’ve used all of the dough, placing each finished pretzel onto the pan. You can make other shapes with the dough too if you like.
13. Bring your pretzels to the stove and place them in a pan of gently boiling water and baking soda. Boil each one for about 30 seconds. Boiling them before baking makes them chewier.
14. Using a spatula, place each boiled pretzel onto a cooling tray lined with paper towels while you wait for the rest to finish. Then move all of them back to your salted baking pan.
15. Place the pan in the oven and bake your pretzels at 475 degrees for 8 minutes.
16. Remove your pretzels from the oven and let them cool. Then serve them with mustard!