To make the bakers happy taste testers instead of unfortunate victims, please prepare the pretzel dough as instructed all the way up through the shaping and the second rise. Shape the dough into pieces that will fill the baking molds about 2/3 way (as they will expand during the second rest). Be sure to spray the molds well with a high-quality non-stick spray and then place the dough in the molds. Allow the dough to rest for about 15 minutes in the molds. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and right before baking, put take each piece of dough and drop it into the water bath for about 1 minute. It may become slightly mis-shapen, but if you put the dough back into the mold to bake you should be able to see the design you are looking for. A full immersion in the water bath will give you an even coating and crust rather than just a half-dunked pretzel. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pretzels are beautiful golden brown. Happy pretzel baking! Kye@KAF

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