Soft Pretzels

In a large bowl, stir together the water, sugar and yeast, then quickly add the oil, salt, malt powder and most of the flour, mixing until the dough is no longer sticky. (Add more flour, if need be.) Knead until you have a soft dough, about 5 to 10 minutes. Let the dough rest, covered, until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 portions and let the portions rest a few minutes before rolling each into ropes.

To form pretzels, form a 15-inch rope, rolling the dough by hand. For each pretzel, form the rope into an upside-down "U." Cross the ends about a third of the way from the rounded part of the U, and fold the ends up at an angle. Place the pretzel on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll out and shape the remaining dough. Let the pretzels rise until very puffy, 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush each pretzel with the egg white, then sprinkle with salt. Bake the pretzels until nicely browned, 12 to 15 minutes.

This recipe yields 12 pretzels.

Each pretzel: 130 calories ; 595 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 1.06 grams fiber.