rise & shine. 9:24am

one of the things that i've always wanted to learn to do is make breads. i adore the scent of bread baking. i love the texture of dough. but most of all, i love eating freshly baked bread. that's literally the best part of baking bread at home. 

now that i have my own kitchen, bread has been part of my experimentation. pretzels were one of the first fruits. they smelled as good as they looked and tasted as good as they smelled.

if you're like me and find the idea of baking bread items to be rather daunting, try this recipe as one of your firsts. it's a rewarding winner.

if you're interested in the recipe, here it is... 

Auntie Anne's Pretzels: Copycat Recipe
Makes 12 pretzels

Adapted from Yammie's Noshery

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons (2 packets) active dry yeast
6 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
5 1/2 cups flour (give or take 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt

3 tablespoons baking soda
1 3/4 cups warm water
Coarse salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted

1. warm milk to approximately 110º (not too hot or it will kill the yeast). Stir in the yeast and let sit for 3 minutes.

2. in medium bowl, mix flour and salt.

3. in separate bowl, mix butter and sugar. add yeast/milk mixture. add flour mixture 1 cup at a time.

5. kneed for approximately 10 minutes. (i used my kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook).

6. place dough in a floured bowl and cover. let rise until doubled (approximately 1 hour).

7. preheat oven to 450º

8. punch down dough and divide into 12 equal lumps.

9. roll each lump out as thin as you can and shape into pretzels.

10. combine baking soda and warm water in a wide dish/bowl. 

11. dip each pretzel into the soda/water mixture and place on a nonstick baking sheet.

12. sprinkle with coarse salt.

13. bake for 6 minutes.

14. brush each pretzel with melted butter and serve hot with cheese sauce!