EXISTING ECONOMICALLY

You know those pretzels you buy for like $4.00 at Pretzel Time or Auntie Anne's? I found a wonderful recipe for the same type of pretzel except homemade from AllRecipes.com.

The great thing about this recipe is they taste just like the ones in the store, but for a lot less.

Almost anyone who has ever baked anything has the majority of these ingredients in their pantry already.

The only things I had to go out and buy were flour (because I was almost out), active dry yeast, and kosher salt.

Total this cost me $6.73.

To make 12 Pretzels I used:
About 1/3 of the flour: 2.59 @ 1/3 = $0.86
About 1/2 of the yeast: 1.79 @ 1/2 = $0.90
About 1/100 of the kosher salt: 2.35 @ 1/100 = $0.02

The overall cost of 12 pretzels is $1.78

That is over half the price of just one pretzel made by Auntie Anne's or Pretzel Time.

With this method, one pretzel costs around 15 cents

Total Savings: About $3.85/pretzel
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Ingredients

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 kosher salt, for topping


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 greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.