Buttery Soft Pretzels. OMG...YUM!!!

The other day I went to the mall with a friend and just I was getting closes to home, H called and asked me to bring him a pretzel. We sure as heck weren't going to turn around so I promised him we'd make our own during the week. Yesterday, I roasted up a few habanero & jalapeno peppers to add to them like they do at the mall. Today I made the pretzels. OH.MY.GOD. were they good!!!

Source: Allrecipes.com

Buttery Soft Pretzels

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup coarse salt, for topping (I used Penzeys french grey sea salt)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 6 Roasted jalapeno and/or habanero peppers chopped
  

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper and sprayed with the best cooking spray EVAH (thanks Veda) which you can buy at Williams-Sonoma . Sprinkle with coarse salt and top w/ roasted peppers .
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.
6. Remove from oven and brush w/ melted butter. Add more coarse salt if desired.