Homemade Pretzels

Ingredients:

4 cups of water
2 Tbs. baking soda
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. active brown yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3-1/2 cups of flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup warm water
pretzel toppings of choice (examples are coarse salt, poppy seeds, caraway seeds and sesame seeds)
cheese or mustard to dip

Preparation:

Combine water with baking soda in a saucepan. Heat until warm and set aside. In a bowl, combine brown sugar and yeast, then add warm water. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, combine flour with salt. Mix in the yeast mixture and add 3/4 cup warm water. Mix until a dough forms, adding more water if necessary. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about four to five minutes. Place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Nuggets of Pretzel Trivia

• The history of the soft pretzel dates to around 610 A.D., somewhere around the south of France or northern Italy. A monk making unleavened bread for Lent twisted the dough to represent the way Christians fold their arms over their chest while praying.

• Hard pretzels had their beginning in Pennsylvania. One story tells of a baker's apprentice that overslept while the pretzels were in the oven and accidentally baking them twice as long as normal.