Chewy Soft Sesame Pretzels
By: Layne Diehl
Published: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - 5:31pm

Ingredients




5 cups all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons salt
2 quarts water
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup cornmeal
sesame seeds

Preparation

1 Add milk and oil to bottom of bread machine 2 Cover liquid with 3 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. 3 Set bread maker to dough setting and start. 4 After first spin and pause, open bread machine and add 1 cup flour over dough. 5 Remove dough after final spin and rise. 6 Kneed dough gently for a minute on lightly floured surface. 7 Cut dough into 16 equal pieces. 8 Roll each piece between hands to form 16 inch rope. 9 Twist each rope to pretzel shape and lay on baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. 10 Let pretzels rest 20 minutes. 11 While pretzels rest, begin a large pot of water boiling, adding 3 tablespoons salt. 12 Dip pretzels 4-5 at a time into boiling water for two minutes each, turning each after one minute. 13 Remove and set on cooling rack covered with dry paper towels.  Let dry for a minute or two, then transfer to baking stone sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with corn meal. 14 Whisk egg white and 1 tablespoon water together in small bowl. 15 Brush pretzels with egg white mixture, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. 16 Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned. 17 Serve with cheese, mustards, and butter.

About


The original of this recipe is compliments of an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  I played with the combination of flour in the bread machine until I got the right consistency.  It takes a couple of tries to get the knack of rolling the pretzel dough into ropes, but once conquered, it is definitely worth the time to make.  These can be stored for several days and make an awesome after school snack.  Mix up the pretzel toppings by substituting cinnamon and sugar, course salt, or poppy seeds, if desired.  Also, experiment with a variety of mustards and cheeses.