Bread Machine Pretzels

by Heidi Lindberg
(Camrose, Alberta Canada)

I love pretzels.
My mother and father immigrated from Bavaria Germany shortly after WWII. Pretzels were not available in Canada, so my mother made her own. Like many people, she had no recipe to go by, so she made one up. She also never wrote it down. I have spent many years looking for the perfect recipe and finally found the one I liked. In my Black & Decker Bread Machine recipe book is a pizza dough recipe that had the same ingredients that my mother used in her recipe.

1 cup water
1tbsp shortening
1 tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. fast rising yeast

Measure ingredients in order listed into bread machine baking pan.
Select dough cycle
When cycle is complete, remove dough to a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 pieces.
Roll each piece into a rope measuring about 24 inches long. Form into pretzels.
Let rise in a warm place for about 1/2 to 1 hour.
Place each pretzel one by one into a boiling soda water bath for ten seconds.

1/2 cup soda
8 cups water.

Remove from water to a parchment lined baking sheet. Give them lots of run to expand. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 14 minutes.