Unfortunately there will be no pictures for my post today.  I wanted to take pictures but was so caught up in the activity that I forgot.  We had our Catholic Bible study today and it was so much fun.  I made a bread dough that was cut into smaller balls.  The children were given a ball of dough and were told to roll them out to make a pretzel.  They could either make the shape of a traditional pretzel or any shape of there choosing.  They were then painted with egg and sprinkled with salt.  The pretzels were then baked in the oven and eaten shortly after.  I got the idea to make these pretzels during Lent from a book called A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz that states, "The pretzel is a very ancient bakery item, which traditionally was eaten only during Lent.  It appeared each year on Ash Wednesday and disappeared on Good Friday..... Christians ate no dairy products in Lent, so the pretzel was made only of flour, salt and water: it was as simple as it could be."

Here is the recipe:
1 Tablespoon honey or sugar (I used honey)
11/2 cups lukewarm water
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups of flour
Coarse or Kosher salt
1 egg, beaten

Add the honey to the water; sprinkle in the yeast and stir until dissolved.  Add 1 teaspoon salt.  Blend in the flour, and knead the dough until smooth.  Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 425 for 12 -15 minutes.

This has become somewhat of a tradition in our house during Lent.  One I hope to continue for a long time!