Soft Pretzels

I have made pretzels on the blog before: Everything Pretzels and they were great but did not have that golden crust that I crave. Last Friday I met up with some friends and got stuck in a bar due to torrential rain. I worked up a healthy hangover for Saturday and woke up needing a good dose of warm soft pretzels. I was not disappointed and think these were the best thing I have ever baked.
Boiling them for 30 seconds in baking soda elevated them to the pinnacle of carb goodness. I also made a hot cheese sauce to dunk them in and will get that post up soon.
 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tbsp active dry yeast

4 cups all purpose flour

1/4  cup unsalted butter, melted
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Sesame seed

Poppy seed

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow to sit until the mixture begins to foam. 
2. Add the flour, sea salt and butter.
3. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. 
4. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl then oil it well with some canola oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit until the dough has doubled in size.
6. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with the canola oil.
7. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot.
8. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet.
9. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Return them to the sheet. 
10. Brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. 
11. Bake until golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes.