The pretzels that inspired these are a staple in many malls across America. This pretzel differs from the Superpretzel clone recipe in that it is sweeter, softer, and more flavorful. The secret to this recipe is the sweet cream butter in which the finished pretzel is literally bathed. These are best served warm, fresh out of the oven, with salt or cinnamon sugar.
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups Better Batter Gluten Free Flour
2 cups Warm Water
2 tablespoons baking soda
to taste coarse salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (melted and kept warm)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sprinkle the yeast on lukewarm water in the bowl of your electric mixer; stirring to dissolve.
Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and beat on high for three minutes. Dough will resemble very sticky playdough or cookie dough at this point - the stickier the better!
Let rise at least 1/2 hour. While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbsp baking soda. Place into a plastic spray bottle or bowl. Be certain to stir often.
After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough with floured hands.
Use a cup of flour to thickly flour a silpat or plastic wrap and place the dough mixture on this. Sprinkle with another cup of the flour. Now very carefully incorporate the flour (knead it by folding the batter in half, patting it out, and folding gently again) until all the flour is absorbed.
This should feel like sticky play-doh. Separate the dough into balls slightly larger than baseballs but slightly smaller than tennis balls. The outside of the ball will get slightly dry to the touch, but the inside will be really tacky and sticky
Very, very lightly flour your rolling surface. Taking one ball at a time, with floured hands, roll the ball between your hands until it is about four inches long. Lay onto the rolling surface. rolling pretzels.
Roll the dough very gently until it is about 9 inches long. At this point, it will be really delicate. Begin to VERY gently pinch the width of the dough to make it longer, and alternate this with patting the dough gently down to make it flatter. Keep doing this until the dough is about 14 inches long.
Take the rope and quickly form it, on the parchment sheets, into a pretzel shape. You do not want to lift the rope any more than you have to, because it is delicate! Place on prepared bakign sheet.
Spray each pretzel with soda solution or brush the solution onto the pretzel. Allow pretzels to rise again for about 15 minutes.
Bake in 450 oven for about 10 minutes or until golden.
While still warm, dip in melted butter and enjoy!
Typical Auntie Anne Toppings:
Coarse Kosher Salt
Cinnamon Sugar
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