Salzbrezeln

"In their native Germany, these twisted ring-shaped and salt-sprinkled breads are traditionally eaten as a snack with beer ..."

That means these Salzbrezeln would be the perfect accompaniment to our fourth trip to Brewfest. I made both salty and sweet versions of B-E-E-R shaped pretzel necklaces. These tasted great before, during and after Brewfest!

Salzbrezeln
2 tsp. dry yeast
1 1/4 cups water
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour (I used some wheat)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
egg glaze (1 egg and 1 Tbsp. water)
pretzel salt (or cinnamon and sugar)

Sprinkle yeast in 1/2 cup water. Let sit 5 minutes and stir to dissolve. Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour, and pour in the dissolved yeast.

Use a wooden spoon to draw enough of the flour into the dissolved yeast to form a soft paste. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let sit 20 minutes.

Mix in the flour, and stir in the remaining water as needed to form a stiff, sticky dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Put dough in greased bowl, and cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down, and let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into round roll and then an oval. Roll each oval into a 16-inch strip with tapered ends, letting the dough rest as necessary. Shape each strip into a pretzel shape. Cover pretzels with towel, and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Brush egg glaze over each pretzel and sprinkle with toppings. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.