People are drawn to pretzel stands not...

People are drawn to pretzel stands not only for pretzels, but to watch the employees form and bake the twists. It looks like so much fun.

It is fun to make soft pretzels. And you can do it at home for pennies.

I haven’t been able to match the recipe used at my local mall, but I came up with a very acceptable product after trying eight variations of cooking methods, times and temperatures.

Pretzel dough is similar to that used for yeast bread. After kneading, let rise in a warm place until doubled. In my experiments, I found that letting the pretzels rise a second time after shaping didn’t make enough of a difference in flavor and texture to warrant the extra time.

The pretzels I rated best were baked briefly at a high temperature, poached, then baked again at a lower temperature. Because of the poaching, they developed a rich brown color and a chewier texture than if they had been simply baked. But it’s difficult to poach really large pretzels. Mine fell apart during the process.

1 Forming pretzels is easy. Simply roll each portion of dough into rope about 18 inches long. Lightly flour work surface, if dough becomes too sticky. Cross ends of rope to form circle, leaving ample extensions of dough.

2 Twist ends again, then pull up and over to meet top edge of circle. Moisten ends before sealing to prevent from popping up during baking.

3 After baking briefly, poach pretzels in mixture of water and baking soda. Remove from simmering liquid with slotted spoon.

4 Brush pretzels with beaten egg or egg white that has been mixed with about one tablespoon of water.

5 Sprinkle with coarse salt to taste before returning to oven.

6 Homemade pretzels are best served while still warm.

SOFT WHOLE-WHEAT PRETZELS

1 cup warm (105- to 115-degree) water

1 package dry yeast

2 tablespoons butter, softened

All-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1 egg or egg white, lightly beaten

5 teaspoons baking soda

Coarse salt

Place water in large bowl of electric mixer. Sprinkle yeast over water. Let stand about 1 minute. Beat on low speed until yeast is dissolved.

Add butter, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sugar and salt. Beat on low to combine, then on medium speed 3 minutes.

Add whole-wheat flour and beat on low to combine. Knead with dough hook or by hand, adding more all-purpose flour as needed, until dough loses stickiness.

Shape dough into ball. Place in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Combine egg with about 1 tablespoon water in small bowl. Set aside.

Punch dough down. Divide into 16 equal pieces, each about 1 1/4 ounces. Shape into pretzels. Place on lightly greased baking sheets.

Place 1 quart water in large, non-aluminum pan. Add baking soda. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to maintain simmering temperature.

Bake pretzels at 475 degrees 4 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

Raise temperature under water mixture to medium. Lower 3 pretzels at time into simmering water. Poach 1 minute, turning once.

Remove pretzels with slotted spoon and return to baking sheets. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle with salt to taste.

Bake at 350 degrees 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and cool briefly on wire racks.

Makes 16 pretzels.

Each pretzel contains about:

93 calories; 536 mg sodium; 17 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.23 gram fiber.