Soft Flax Pretzels

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 2 -3 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 (8 g) package traditional active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup flax seed

Recipe

• 1 combine 1 cup flour, 5 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt in medium mixing bowl.
• 2 proof yeast by emptying package into 1/4 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar. wait ten minutes. if yeast doubles in size, it is good. (family tip: sing a happy song to it while it rises.).
• 3 mix 1 cup of warm water and 1 tbsp olive oil. add to dry mixture, along with proofed yeast.
• 4 mix well. stir in flax seeds and enough flour to make a soft dough.
• 5 knead on lightly-floured surface, adding flour as needed, until smooth and no longer sticky (about 4 minutes).
• 6 put in bowl greased with olive oil, cover top of bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour to rise (until it doubles in size). i leave it on the counter beside the oven and preheat it to 475 - the warm oven helps the rising and it takes a while for the oven to heat to 475 anyhow.
• 7 after it has risen, punch it down and knead about five times. break into 8 pieces (or up to 12, depending on how big your batch is) and shape into pretzels. let rise 5 minutes more in pan, covered (i use the same plastic wrap).
• 8 bake 15 -17 minutes at 475, until golden brown. let them cool a bit, and eat!