What you need:
- 1-1/2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 5 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus some to flour work surface)
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- Additional coarse salt to sprinkle on pretzels, as desired.
What you do:
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix water and sugar together in a bowl until sugar has dissolved and then add the yeast. Allow mixture to stand for about 5 minutes - until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, butter and salt together until well mixed. Add the yeast mixture and stir with a fork until the dough starts to cling. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
- Cut dough into 15 equal pieces. Roll each piece between your hands into long ropes at least the thickness of a pencil. To make into traditional pretzel shape, make a large “U” shape and then connect the two ends, twist 2 to 3 times and bring down to the center of the U and press together. You can make any shapes you would like.
- Place on baking sheet, brush with egg and sprinkle coarse salt over them, if you'd like.
- Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, until pretzels are golden brown. You will need a slightly longer cook time for thicker pretzels. Allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes. Enjoy!
