• Read all the instructions first so you are clear about the steps. It IS a bit of work for 8 pretzels, but there is no comparison to the ones you find in the Freezer section of the grocery store.

For the Baking Soda Bath:

• Before you start the dough (in fact, you can do this a day or two in advance) bake 1/4 cup of baking soda in a baking dish (non-metallic) at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Set aside... You can make more and store the extra in an airtight jar.

For the Pretzels:

• Add 2 tsp dried yeast to 1 1/4 cup warm (not hot... WARM) water.
• Add 2 tsp brown sugar and 2 TBL Bread Flour... stir to combine
• Set aside for 10 minutes.
• Combine 3 cups of bread flour and 2 tsp salt (I used Kosher salt) in the bowl of a mixer.
• When the water/yeast mix is all bubbly looking, add it to the flour/salt in the mixer, then mix on low until the dough is combined and comes togther.
• Now, knead the dough by hand, or with a dough hook in your mixer, for 10 minutes. (I ended up doing a combination... 5 minutes in the mixer, 3-4 minutes by hand, then a few more in the mixer)
• Take it out, and knead/shape into a ball.
• Put a bit of oil at the bottom of a medium mixing bowl. Drop the dough ball in, then flip it over (this coats the whole ball). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then place in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.

While this is happening, set up your station:

• Cover 2 cookie sheets with Parchment Paper
• Sprinkle an area on the counter with a bit of bread flour... or sprinkle a large baking sheet with bread flour ( I will explain in a moment)
• When the dough has doubled in size, remove from the bowl, and cut to 8 pieces.
• Be patient when shaping the dough, it doesn't always go how you want it to. Start with rolling and stretching each piece to a longish strand. At first the dough will want to spring back to a ball... just stretch it a bit, and set it on the cookie sheet/ counter to rest a bit.. work on the other pieces. Now go back and stretch a bit more... then a bit more...
• When you have 8 16-19 inch strands, do the fancy pretzel knot twist. (Hold the ends, then give a twist so the U part spins, then flip over and Voila!) I will attach a photo...
• Put the 8 Pretzel shapes on the parchment covered baking sheets.
• Let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Boiling Pretzels:

• Bring 10 cups of water to a boil in a non-aluminum pot. Add the Baked Baking Soda.. stir carefully until it dissolves.
• PREHEAT THE OVEN to 400 degrees F
• After the pretzels have risen again, carefully lower them in to the water 2 at a time (more if more fit without crowding at the surface)
• Boil 30 seconds, then flip and boil 30 seconds more.
• Lift out of the water with a spatula... and set back on the parchment. (nice side up)
• Repeat with other pretzels.
• Let rest for 5 minutes.
• (Is the oven hot?)
• Sprinkle your toppings on the Pretzels...
• I put both trays in the oven at once... bake 10 minutes, then rotate the trays top to bottom, and bake 10 more minutes.
• Take out of the oven, and cool 2 -3 minutes on the baking sheet.
• Remove from baking sheet on to cooling racks.
• Let cool until you can put them into your mouth.
• Eat