Garlic-Herb Pretzels

Ingredients

• 2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2¼ tsp yeast
• ¼ tsp Amoretti® Rosemary Oil Extract O.S.
• ¼ tsp Amoretti® Garlic Oil Extract O.S.
• 4-5 basil leaves, chopped fine (optional)
• ⅞ to 1 cup warm water (Use the greater amount in winter, the lesser amount in summer, and somewhere in between during spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.)

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tbsp baking soda

• pretzel salt
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Place all of the dough ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until combined.
2. Knead the dough, on medium, for about 5 minutes until soft and smooth. Flour the dough and place it in a bag and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. While the dough is resting, prepare the water bath: Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost totally) dissolved. Pour the baking soda/water into a 9" square pan and cool to lukewarm (or cooler).
4. Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil spray or lining it with parchment paper.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2½ ounces each).
6. Shape each piece into a rough log and allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
7. Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28" to 30" long) and twist each rope into a pretzel shape (or cut into 1" pretzel bites).
8. Working with 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing onto the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color.
9. Sprinkle the pretzels lightly with coarse salt and allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
10. Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, until golden brown.
11. Remove the pretzels from the oven and brush them thoroughly with melted butter. Keep brushing on the butter until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste.
12. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Recipe lightly adapted from King Arthur Flour