Recreating your favorite Mall snack

Every time Brian and I go to the mall, which isn't very often, we tend to find ourselves a little hungry.  Whether it's from the walking, the stress of watching children run around like crazy people, or witnessing a young valley-girl wanna-be freak out on her phone, it's hard to say what makes us become so hungry.  But when our stomachs call we know exactly where to go... Auntie Anne's.  Home of the world's greatest pretzels.  I always get the giant original pretzel, and Brian usually goes for either the pretzel or the pretzel sticks.  Both excellent choices.  You really can't go wrong with Auntie Anne's.

So the other day I was surfing the web when I came across the Auntie Anne's website and thought, wouldn't it be amazing if I could recreate their pretzels?  At first I thought, I have no idea how I would do that.  I can barely remember how to make a regular pretzel, let alone immitate one!  But I couldn't let myself down like that.  I had to give it a try.  So I found an immitation recipe on food.com and went for it.

It's a long process, making pretzels.  Reading the directions you would think it to be a piece of cake, but my goodness!  It took a lot out of me.  It took about an hour and a half all together, prep work included, to create the pretzels, which was completely fine.  Time wasn't the issue.  It was the labor involved.  Yes!  The rolling of the dough to create huge pretzels was a challenge.  I can tell you that my upper arms and back still ache.  It is truely "full body contact baking."

But enough with the chitter chatter.  Here is what you will need to make your favorite Auntie Anne's pretzels:

3 1/2 cups of warm water

1 1/4 Tsp of active dry yeast

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 1/4 Tsp salt

1 cup of bread flour

3 cups of all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp baking soda

3 Tbsp melted butter

Step 1:

Pour 1 1/2 cups of warm water into a mixing bowl and add yeast.  Stir until all of the yeast has dissolved.

Once dissolved, add in the brown sugar and salt.  Stir until dissolved.

Step 2:

Add all 4 cups of flour and knead until dough becomes "smooth and elastic." 

*I used my stand mixer for both of these steps and it worked out just fine.  I just had to keep an eye on the dough until it was finished.

Step 3:

Cover dough and let rise for 30 min.  While the dough rises, add the rest of the warm water to another bowl, and pour in the baking soda.  Mix about every 5-10 min. until the dough is done rising.  You will use this water as a "wash" for your pretzels.

Step 4:

When the dough is finished, take about a palm full of dough and roll it out into a long rope.  Twist it into a pretzel shape and dip it into the baking soda wash.  Place it on a greased baking sheet and repeat.

Continue to do this until all of the dough has been used.

Step 5: 

Spread the melted butter over the pretzels and sprinkle salt on top.

Step 6:

Place the pretzels into a 450 degree oven for 10 min.  (make sure to keep an eye on them!)

Now eat!!!

Enjoy!