Laugen Brotchen

Yum! I love a good pretzel roll - salty, chewy, and that distinctively pretzel-y taste (kinda sweet yeah, and a bit doughy and Something Else that just can't be described). And yet, only with a pretzel roll you can eat alone with a nice spicy mustard OR you can use it for sandwiches. Brilliant!

This takes me back to when my parents always used to make pretzels at home, although they went the more "traditional" route and boiled the dough in a lye bath. I used baking soda, because I'm a wimp (and a klutz, so someone would have lost an eye if I'd done the traditional thing). They were still very good! If you haven't made homemade pretzels (or pretzel rolls) before, you are truly missing out. Quite the treat.

Laugen Brotchen (Pretzel Rolls)

(from RecipeZaar)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. warm water
2 Tbsp. warm milk
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/3 c. light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 c. all-purpose flour
Kosher salt or pretzel salt
2 qt. cold water
1/2 c. baking soda

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix 1/3 cup of the warm (105-115 F) water with the yeast and let stand until foamy. Add the remaining cup of warm water, the warm milk, melted butter, and brown sugar and mix to dissolve the sugar.

Attach your dough hook to your stand mixer, and slowly add the 4 cups of flour until combined. Continue using your dough hook to mix the dough until it forms a nice, firm dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Roll into a 2-foot long log and cut into 12 even pieces. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a damp cloth and let sit for 30 minutes.

Pat dough into rolls, or form pretzel knows and arrange on a lightly floured surface, about an inch apart, and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets.

In a large stockpot, bring the cold water to a rolling boil and add the baking soda. Drop the rolls -- one or two at a time -- into the boiling water and boil for no more than 30 seconds, turning them over once. Carefully remove with tongs, spatula, or slotted spoon and hold above the pot to let drain.

Deposit boiled rolls into the greased baking sheet (6 per sheet) and sprinkle lightly with pretzel or kosher salt. Repeat with the remaining rolls.

Bake the rolls on the upper and middle racks of the oven for 8-10 minutes until brown all over -- if necessary, shift pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through, for even baking.

Let the rolls cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack. Serve warm, or at room temperature.