Homemade Soft Pretzels

When you have four kids, your house seems so quiet and calm when two of them are gone. Thursday night was ski club for my oldest two, and my husband went with them, so I decided to make some homemade soft pretzels since I had some free time. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law years ago. They came out great, so I decided to try them again. Rolling out each pretzel did take some time, but if you have your kids help, it could go a lot faster. They might even enjoy doing it!


Pretzels Recipe:


1 1/4 cups water (room temperature)
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast


Combine ingredients into bread machine. Set on dough cycle.

Next, place dough on floured surface and divide into 4 parts. Divide those four parts into six pieces.

Roll each piece into a rope about 18 inches. Shape the rope into a circle, overlapping about 4 inches from the end. Twist the ends where dough overlaps. Lift the ends across to the opposite edge of the circle. Moisten and press ends to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet.

Let rise uncovered until puffy, about 20 minutes.

In a 3 quart saucepan, bring 2 quarts water and 1/3 cups baking soda to boil. Simmer a few at a time for 10 seconds on each side.

Place on greased cookie sheets. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake at 425' for 12 minutes until browned. Remove from cookie sheets and serve with mustard or cheese sauce.

My kids loved them. They were very happy to find these after a day of skiing.

On other notes, I'm going to change my blog layout this weekend! Leslie reminded me of this when she asked me how my resolutions were going. I looked at my list and decided now is the time. My sister is in town this weekend, so she is going to help me hopefully tomorrow. I definitely need a change. She's also trying to convince me to show pictures of my family. I'm thinking about it. Check back soon to see my change!