Auntie Anne's Pretzels - Copycat

JustaQT's Note:

From Copykat.com http://www.copykat.com

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 pkg.)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 1 cup bread flour
• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• coarse salt
• 2 -4 tablespoons butter (melted)

Directions:

1. Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve.
2. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic.
3. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.
4. While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda.
5. Be certain to stir often.
6. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape.
7. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet.
8. Allow pretzels to rise again.
9. Bake in oven at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden.
10. Brush with melted butter.
11. Toppings: After you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt.
12. Or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
13. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously.
14. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture.
15. Notes: The longer and thinner you can make the dough rope, the more like Auntie Anne's they will be.

Reviews

[thatchman1]

A great recipe, and two additional "copycat" tips:

Auntie Anne salts her pretzels before baking them so the salt adheres better to the surface

She does not let them rise again before putting them in the oven

You can spray a plain one with non fat baking spray to make a no fat cinnamon sugar to avoid all the butter.

Having the baking soda water mix as warm as you can comfortably tolerate leads to more brown less spotty coloration.

Enjoy!

[WillsMommy]

Awesome! I made pretzel sticks with this recipe, as a snack for my son's preschool class. Huge hit! Soft, chewy, flavorful, with that perfect pretzel taste and crust. The recipe isn't very clear, never says where to add the brown sugar, etc., but most of us can figure it out. I also boil mine longer than called for, about 1 minute each, and cut the baking soda/water solution in half. I'll definitely make these again!

[Mindelicious]

These turned out amazing! My husband enjoyed these very much!! I did use whole wheat flour & vegan butter spread and they still turned out great. I didn't tell him that it was an Auntie Anne's copycat recipe & that was the first thing out of his mouth - they tasted exactly like them! When I was little we went to the same church as Auntie Annie - always knew those pretzels would make it big time :D Thanks!