Pizza Pretzels

We used to be able to buy these from a local bakery, but I can't find them anymore. My daughter was going into withdrawal, so I came up with these. They are great to store in the freezer...nuke them for a couple minutes and you have a quick snack or lunch! (Rising time included in prep time)

• Ready In: 1 hr 25 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  lb  pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
• 1⁄4 cup  pizza sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 4  ounces provolone cheese (1 oz. slices, or you could use mozzarella)
•  oregano or   italian seasoning

Directions

1. Divide pizza dough into 4 equal pieces.
2. Roll each piece into a rope, 18-24" long.
3. If you must use flour, use sparingly.
4. Form each rope into a pretzel, pressing the ends of the rope into the dough so it doesn't untwist.
5. Place on sprayed or greased baking sheet, leaving space around each pretzel.
6. Cover and let rise until almost double, about 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 400*.
8. Gently spread about 1 tbl of pizza sauce onto each pretzel, allowing some of the sauce down into the holes which have probably mostly closed up.
9. Sprinkle with oregano if desired.
10. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until bottoms are a darker golden.
11. Immediately place a slice of provolone onto each pretzel.
12. At this point, I allow them to cool, pack each one in a baggie and then refrigerate or freeze.
13. From the fridge, you'll probably need about 1 minute in the microwave; from the freezer, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
14. To enjoy right away: turn oven off and place pan back in until cheese starts to melt.