Soft Pretzels

I've had a craving for big soft pretzels recently! Now, if I were in America, I could walk in to any shopping mall and get my fix. Not so easy here in Australia! Come to think of it, I don't know if I have ever seen them here. Anyone who follows my blog may have caught on by now that some of my favorite things to bake are things that remind me of home and are harder to find here. As I write this blog entry, I am happily munching on a big soft, freshly baked pretzel with yellow mustard on it! Craving needs met! These were so much fun to make and I will defiantly make they again.
ENJOY!

Soft Pretzels

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 5 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tablespoon of water
• 1/4 cup of coarse

• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 10 cups hot water

1. Combine the water, sugar and yeast in a bowl . Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
2. Sift flour and salt in to a large bowl and form a well in the center. Add oil and yeast mixture and mix together until dough forms together. (If the dough seems too dry, you can add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water.) Knead by hand for 7-8 mins (I used my stand up mixer with the hook attachment for about 5 mins and this was fine.)
3. In a large bowl, lightly coat with oil. Put dough in oiled bowl and cover completely with cling wrap. Place bowl in a warm place for about an hour or until dough has doubled in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 230 C (450 F). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil (I found that cooking spray worked fine.)
5. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil in an 8 quart pan or roasting pan.
6. Turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface (you want to avoid adding any more flour to the dough.) Divide into 8-12 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
7. Place the pretzels into the boiling water for 60 seconds each. Remove them from water using a large flat spatula. Return to the baking sheet.
8. Once all pretzels have been boiled, brush the top of each with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
9. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.