The smell of fresh bread might just be the best thing in the world.  Seriously!  I am such a sucker for any kind of bread, bun, pretzel...you name it!  One of my favourite things to do when having a movie night at my place is to make fresh soft pretzels with my friends.  I'll often start the dough before they come over, and then we all will roll out our own pretzels into whatever shapes we want, and choose the toppings we each prefer.  It's such a fun treat that most people don't make themselves, but they are so so easy!

There's also a GIVEAWAY for the same mat on my instagram page, so pop over and enter before it ends on April 5th at 9pm PST!!

Back to pretzels.  They're delicious.  And they're so easy!  The toughest part is waiting for them to rise. Ha!  I added some chopped up rosemary and fresh garlic to my classic pretzel recipe, and it gives it an amazing savoury twist.  Served warm with butter makes it the perfect movie snack!

Rosemary Garlic Pretzels

recipe by: Kelsey Siemens
yields: about 12 pretzels

ingredients:
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup of warm water (you want it hot, but not boiling!)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

4 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of water
1 tsp of salt
1 tablepoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
1)  In a small bowl, mix together sugar, warm water, and yeast.  Set aside and allow yeast to rise for about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't rise, it might be expired.  You can try it again with hotter/cooler water, or else you might need new yeast!

2)  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, water, salt, finely chopped rosemary, and minced garlic.

3)  Add in the yeast mixture, and mix until the dough starts to come together.

4)  On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough at least 30-40 times, until it comes together nicely.  Try not to add too much flour, as you don't want the dough to be tough.

5)  Place the dough in a greased bowl, and cover with a clean dish towel.  Allow to rise for an hour in a warm place.

6)  Cut the dough into about 12 equal pieces.  Roll each piece out into a long tube, and then shape into a pretzel.  Place on Silpat mat, and let rise for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

7)  Brush the tops of the pretzels lightly with water (or an egg white) and sprinkle with coarse salt.

8)  Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly, and serve warm with butter.

*These pretzels are best the first day, but will keep a day or two in an airtight container.  Or for a few weeks in the freezer.

Happy Pretzel Making!

-Kelsey