Picnic Pretzels

Two Sundays a month our church holds a picnic following the evening service. I have had fun coming up with some different items for the festivities. Last week I made homemade pretzels. I had fun making them and made three different kinds.

Pretzels

1 1/4 cups milk
4 cups all purpose flour (divided)
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
2 tablespoons baking soda
Olive oil to coat
(toppings- sea salt, coarse salt, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds)

Heat the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until the temperature reaches 120 to 130 F.

Combine 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, and garlic salt in large bowl. Add milk and butter. Beat vigorously for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.
Place dough onto a lightly floured surface; flatten slightly. Knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding flour if necessary to prevent sticking.

Shape dough into a ball. Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl; turn dough over once to oil surface. Cover with a towel; let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 equal parts. Roll each piece into 22 inch long ropes on lightly oiled surface. Form rope into a "U" shape. About 2 inches from each end cross dough. Cross a second time. Fold loose ends up to rounded part of the "U"; press ends to seal. Turn pretzels over so that ends are on underside and reshape if needed. Cover with towel; let rest 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill large dutch oven 3/4 full with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add baking soda. Carefully drop pretzels, a couple at a time, into the boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon. Place the pretzels on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, sesame or poppy seeds.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cook on a wire rack.

*Note: I tried a few with cinnamon and sugar and they just weren't sweet enough.