Soft Salty Pretzels

This ain't no lazy Sunday for our household this week, no sirree bob!  WE are the proud new owners of an 11 week old Peek A Poo!  I got suckered in by his little face and the calming way he lay in the arms of the saleswoman, what was I thinking?!
We (Mr. BM) named him Dion.  Why Dion you ask?
Because you see, my fiance is slightly (yeah right - understatement) obsessed with the Atlanta Falcons football team and has wanted to name something after a teammate.  Since I told him that he would NOT be allowed to name our child after them, he got the next best thing.
Isn't he a cutie?

Not to sideline him already but this is a food blog not an "I Love My Dog" blog - although I am going to be making some home made doggie treats in the coming months so if you have any friends with dogs - have them come and check out the posts once up! If Dion likes it, I am sure others will too :)

Pretzels, lets get back to them....those hard salty shelled, soft centered doughy pieces of art. 
I guess when I think of dogs I think of ballpark franks and pretzels.  Not strange, when I think of snow I think of  mashed potatoes, snow cones and marshmallows too so I suppose its only natural that when I get a dog I want hot dogs?  Good thing I didn't fall in love with a wiener dog!!

This dough is pretty easy to work with and only takes about an hour to rise.  Total process before inserting in mouth = 1.5 hours


Pretzels
makes 15

1 1/2 c water, warmed to 110 degrees F
1 package dry active yeast
1 tsp. brown sugar
4 c. bread flour
4 tbsp. salted butter, melted
1 tbsp. dark corn syrup
2 tsp. salt
1 large egg white
1/4 c. baking soda
coarse salt for sprinkling

Coat a large bowl with olive oil and set aside.
In your mixing bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar.

Stir until yeast dissolves, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Add in the flour, butter, corn syrup, and salt.

Mix on speed 2 until ball forms on the dough hook - about 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes.  Have some flour on hand as you may need it if it becomes too sticky. 

The dough should be smooth and elastic once complete.
Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to the oiled bowl, coating all sides.
Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in volume - about 1 hour.  I usually put mine in the stove.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead for 5 minutes. Divide it into 15 two-ounce pieces. Form each piece into a ball, roll each ball out to a 1/2-inch-thick "rope", and twist each rope into a pretzel shape.
 

 
Cover and let rise for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg white, 1 tablespoon water, and the remaining salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Bring 4 cups of water and baking soda to a boil. Poach pretzels 2 at a time for 30 seconds on each side. Transfer pretzels to a parchment-lined baking pan, brush lightly with the egg-white mixture, and sprinkle with the coarse salt.
 

Bake until golden -- about 15 minutes.

Try to avoid eating them straight from the oven, you may receive third degree burns to the roof of your mouth if you don't wait a few minutes - from experience
 
This recipe was adapted from delish.com