4 cups flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons baking soda
coarse salt
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Then turn off.
1. In a small mixing bowl, place two tablespoons of the warm water. Drop in the yeast and sugar. Stir carefully. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the warm water, oil, and salt. Stir gently.
2. In a large mixing bowl, place the flour. Making a small well in the center of the flour, add the yeast mixture. Beat until mixed.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter top and knead until smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add flour in small amounts as you are kneading.
4. Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with a cloth. Put hte covered bowl into the warm oven along with a bowl of hot water underneath. Allow to rise until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions.
6. To form the pretzels, roll out the dough until it measures approximately 36 inches in length. (This takes some time as the dough is very springy. Keep the other portions under a cloth so they don't dry out.) A pretzel shape is made by allowing the center of the roll to rest on the counter; cross the loose ends around each other once or twice and loop them back over the center. But don't be too concerned with the shape. Just have fun!
7. Once the pretzels are formed, cover them and place them back in the oven to rise until doubled.
8. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Dissolve the baking soda in 1 1/4 cups of warm water and lightly paint the pretzels with a pastry brush. This gives them their characteristic flavor and a very hard crust. Sprinkle with the coarse salt. (If you prefer paint the pretzels with melted butter. This will result in a more tender, bread-like pretzel.)
9. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown. Makes about 12 pretzels. Great for dipping in homemade mustard.
10. Herbs and spices can be added to the pretzels before baking. We tried black pepper, Chinese five spice, cinnamon, herbes de provence, Italian herbs, and poppy seed.
