Oliver and Estelle: Homemade pretzels

Today Oliver and I made our own soft pretzels. I found a recipe for 100% whole wheat pretzels online and thought we'd give them a try. Anthony moaned something about making them out of grass clippings from the yard when I told him what we were going to do. He usually mocks my adventures in whole wheat flour and mumbles something about lack of taste, but then usually gobbles them up. Oliver was eager to help in the kitchen with this project. Which means he wanted to get his hands dirty and make a mess. Cooking with a two year old is a test of my patience. I'm getting better, but I still have to stifle my screams sometimes when I look at the floor.

Pretzel recipe
I can't vouch for this blog site at all, especially with a title like 'Heavenly Homemakers'. But Google doesn't discern for taste or sarcasm.
1 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. salt
8 cups whole wheat flour (more if necessary)
butter
salt

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey. Stir this together and kind of mush the yeast around. Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.

Melt a stick of butter in a saucepan on the stove. Add 1/2 cup honey, 2 1/2 cups milk and 4 t. salt. Heat until 120 degrees. Add to the yeast mixture and stir.

Add the flour 2 cups at a time and stir. Knead for 5 - 10 minutes, then cover and let sit for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from bowl and knead a few times. Take a fist sized ball of dough and roll into a snake. Then form into pretzel shapes or circles, snakes, Celtic knots, whatever you desire. We tried it all and they basically taste the same. We got about 12 large pretzels and things from this recipe.