Soft Salted Pretzels

• Pretzel is a form of baked bread, with the dough shaped into a twisted Knot. They were originated in Europe and are now famous worldwide. A lot of variations are possible in the basic recipe. What I have given is the recipe for salted pretzels. You can add your own ingredients as per choice like cinnamon, sugar, herbs etc.
• Ingredients
• 1.5 cups warm water ( about 45 degree celcius)2 teaspoons kosher salt1 Package Active Dry Yeast4.5 cups All Purpose Flour ( Maida)60 ml unsalted Butter10 Cups Water2/3 Cup Baking Soda1 Egg Yolk with 1 Tbsp water ( beaten) Kosher salt for garnishingOil for greasing the pan
• 
  Procedure

• Add sugar, kosher salt and dry yeast in warm water and let it rest for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Take the all purpose flour in a large bowl and create a crater. Put butter and pour the yeast mixture. Now kneed it into a soft dough. Grease a pan with oil and put the dough in it and seal it with plastic wrap. Let it rest for about an hour in a warm place. The dough would have doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven at 220 degree Celsius. Line the pan with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
• Take 10 cups of water and add baking soda in a pan and bring to boil.
• In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into about 24" rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the 'U' in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment lined Pan.
• Place the pretzels into the boiling water, one by one, for about 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the Kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. 
• Pretzels are ready to be served!!
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