Coming up with simple solutions to complicated (or lengthy) recipes is kind of my thing. I love twisting and turning classics using basic and simple processes, making my daily hours in my kitchen a constant challenge. I am a lazy cook, really I am. So I constantly try to find shortcuts and easy fixes to aid in my menu planning. I am sure I break a million cardinal rules of the culinary handbooks, but it makes me fall in love with cooking even more. And this is one of those solutions I want to share with you. 

I love using my Basic Dough recipe to simplify my way through bread baking. I recently used this recipe to create these fluffy pretzels. Overgrown, fluffy, buttery and with a beautifully salty crust.  You can dip them in melted cheese, tangy mustard, garlic sauce or simply spread butter before each bite. 

You will do two simple tweaks to my Basic Dough for these beauties. Swap the oil with butter, this produces a chewier core. And you will need to rise the dough for one hour before shaping the pretzels, then let them rise again a few minutes before giving them their signature pretzel bath. This is an easy and fun recipe, and no matter how you shape them, that soda bath is what gives pretzels the special pretzel flavor.