Auntie Ann's Pretzels

How good do these pretzels look? They are amazing. And they honestly taste just like the pretzels you buy at the mall. I am a sucker for mall pretzels, I will admit it. And although mine may not be perfectly shaped liked theirs, they do taste just like theirs. Don't believe me? Try this recipe for yourself, courtesy of Food Network Magazine. It will make you a believer. Pictures for this post taken by Travis. The pictures are great, and will help you see how easy it is to make these pretzels yourself.

Ingredients

For the Pretzels:
1 cup milk
1 package active dry yeast
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/3 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons coarse salt

For the Sauce:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

Directions:
Measure the milk and heat either in the microwave or a saucepan to 110 degrees.
The temperature is pretty important, so use a thermometer to make sure it is 110 degrees. Pour the milk into a large bowl.

You will need 1 package of yeast - instant or active dry will work. I make alot of bread so I buy my yeast in bulk, and I got this handy yeast measuring spoon from King Arthur Flour which is 2 1/4 tsp, exactly one package's worth of yeast. Pretty cool, huh?

Sprinkle in the yeast and let soften, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the brown sugar.Measure your flour (proper way to measure flour - fluff it up, sprinkle into your measuring cup and level). Stir in one cup of flour with a wooden spoon. Dice 2 tablespoons butter and soften; stir into the mix.

Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and the fine salt to make a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes.

Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

This what it will look like after it has risen.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and grease a large baking sheet. Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. (If the dough seems tight, cover and let rest until it relaxes.) Divide the dough into 6 pieces. I use my digital kitchen scale to make sure each pretzel is the same size.

Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 30-inch rope.

Form each rope into a pretzel shape by holding the ends of slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch.

Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups warm water in a shallow baking dish. Gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle with the coarse salt. Please do not use table salt. You can buy coarse kosher salt just about anywhere now, I got this box at Walmart for 99 cents.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. While your pretzels are baking, make the dipping sauce. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, brown sugar and vinegar in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Melt the remaining butter in a shallow dish. Place on a wire rack and brush the tops and bottoms of the hot pretzels with the melted butter. Delicious.

Serve the pretzels warm with the sweet mustard sauce. I guarantee these will be gone within minutes.