Soft Pretzel

Ingredients:
   Dough:
   1 1/2 C    warm water
   2 1/4 tsp  active dry yeast
   2 tbl      brown sugar
   1 1/8 tsp  salt
   2 tbl      butter
   1 C        bread flour
   3 C        regular flour

   Bath:
   2 C        warm water
   2 tbl      baking soda

   Pre-bake coating:
   1-4 tbl    coarse salt

   Post-bake coating:
   4 tbl      butter, melted (optional)

Directions:
   Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add
   sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth
   and elastic. 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. Be certain to stir often. After dough has
   risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope* (about 1/2 inch
   or less thick) and shape. Place pretzel in soda solution for 1-2 minutes,
   remove from solution, and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to
   rise again (about the amount of time it takes to fill a baking sheet).
   Sprinkle with salt and bake in 450 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes
   or until golden.  Brush with melted butter and enjoy! 

Pretzel Dogs:

      1          batch of soft pretzel dough
      14         hebrew hotdogs (7 per pack)

   Prepare dough and cut hotdogs in half.  Pinch off dough and roll into a
   rope aboue 1/2 inch thick.  Starting at one end, roll the hotdog over the
   rope to cover. Pinch off excess when hotdog is covered, and continue with
   next hotdog.  Drop dough covered hotdogs in baking soda solution for 1-2
   minutes (I do 3-5 hotdogs at one and let them soak while I prepare the next
   3-5 hotdogs). Place hotdogs on baking sheet and let dry slightly (I usually
   let them sit until I put the next batch on the baking sheet) and sprinkle
   with kosher salt.  Bake in 450 degrees F oven for 11-12 minutes or until
   golden.  Make pretzels with an excess dough.  I do not brush the pretzel
   dogs with butter.

   For potlucks, I quadruple the recipe and use about 50-60 hotdogs.  When
   making them in bulk, I use the following cycle:

      1. Make dough rope
      2. Wrap hotdogs in dough or tie pretzel
      3. Remove previous batch of hotdogs/pretzels from bath and place on
         baking sheet.
      4. Drop batch of hotdogs/pretzels into bath
      5. Salt the hotdogs/pretzels which were removed the previous cycle
      6. Repeat step 1 until baking sheet is full.


