What did I do wrong? The dough was incredibly springy. Each time I rolled out a piece it sprang back into a short string. When I tried to twist them into shape, the openings closed up. Consequently, my pretzels looked a bit more like lumpy dinner rolls. Although they tasted very good, my husband commented that they resembled rolls called "weck" or "kummelweck" typically served in up-state New York for sandwiches with rare roast beef, horseradish, dill pickles and an au jus dipping sauce - yummmm! Oh, LOVE beef on weck! Marsha, when your dough springs back like that, WALK... AWAY. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then come back and gently roll again. Once all the pieces are rolled into logs, if they start springing back as you shape them into pretzels - WALK... AWAY. Come back in 10 or 15 minutes, and they'll be ready to behave. It's the gluten that's causing this; the more you handle dough, the tighter the gluten gets. Think of a rubber bands snapping back. But if you give it time to relax, it behaves just fine.... PJH

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