National ______________ Day!

Monday was National Pretzel Day, didn't you know?

I had no clue until my good, ol' friends on the Today Show mentioned it. I really don't need an excuse to make my favorite soft pretzels - but it was fun to have extra motivation. So I started the dough rising before Soren fell into the duck pond. Then after I fished him out, recovered from the scare, and washed off nasty mud, we shaped the dough into pretzels and baked them for dinner. Soft, warm pretzels make the world a better place.

There seems to be a holiday for everything. Who comes up with these? And how do I nominate something? Maybe we need a National Whistling Day or National Homemade Ice Cream Day.... Just saying....

My recipe is from here and I am happy to share the love with any fellow pretzel lovers:

2 packages active dry yeast (Learn more about this cut)
1 teaspoon sugar (Learn more about this cut)
1 1/4 cups warm water (Learn more about this cut)
4 1/2 cups flour (Learn more about this cut)
1/2 cup sugar (Learn more about this cut)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (Learn more about this cut)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (Learn more about this cut)
1/4 cup baking soda (Learn more about this cut)
2 cups hot water (Learn more about this cut)
Pretzel salt

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1 1/4 cups water; let stand 7-8 minutes until creamy.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center; add oil and yeast mixture. Mix together to form dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 5 minutes until smooth; adding flour as needed, dough will be slightly sticky.
3. Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough turning to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about an hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and form into fun shapes.
5. Combine baking soda and hot water. Dip each pretzel into water mixture and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
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1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1 1/4 cups water; let stand 7-8 minutes until creamy.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center; add oil and yeast mixture. Mix together to form dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 5 minutes until smooth; adding flour as needed, dough will be slightly sticky.
3. Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough turning to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about an hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and form into fun shapes.
5. Combine baking soda and hot water. Dip each pretzel into water mixture and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes.Learn more