The Catholic Foodie

Pretzels for Lent

Jeff Young -

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (about 110 F)
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour (we prefer King Arthur)
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Coarse salt (for topping)
  • 1 egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Add the honey to 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 F). You don’t want the water too hot… that would kill the yeast.
  2. Add the yeast and stir until dissolved.
  3. Add 1 tsp salt and stir until dissolved.
  4. Blend in the flour using a fork. When the dough begins to pull away from the bowl, lay it out on a hard surface and knead till smooth.
  5. Cut the dough into pieces… about the size of the palm of your hand.
  6. Roll each piece into “ropes” by hand, then twist into pretzel shapes.
  7. Place the pretzels on baking stones (or lightly greased cookie sheets)
  8. Brush each pretzel with the beaten egg and sprinkle with salt.
  9. Bake at 425 F for 12 to 15 minutes (or until golden brown).

Enjoy! [Moderately, though… It is Lent after all.]

And speaking of Lent… If you want to learn more about Pretzels and Lent, you might want to visit these sites:

This recipe was adapted from one I first found on DanielleBean.com a couple of years ago. Danielle originally got it from from A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz.

***Pretzel image courtesy of BohemianDolls on Flickr.com***