Oven Baked Soft Pretzels

Makes: 8 Pretzels

Ingredients:
Dough:
1 1/2 cup Warm Water
1 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 1/2 tsp or (1 pkg) Yeast
4 cup Flour
4 TBSP melted Butter

Water Bath:
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda

Egg Wash:
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Topping:
Pretzel salt (can substitute Kosher or Sea Salt)

Method:

1. Combine water, sugar and salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let stand 5 minutes or until it mixture begins to foam.
2. Using the dough hook, add the flour and butter and mix on low speed until combined.
3. Increase speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl(about 5 minutes).
4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with towel and sit in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 450 and line 2 baking pans with parchment paper. Lightly spray with cooking spray or brush with vegetable oil.
6. Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil in a large pot. Lightly oil your work surface and turn out the dough and divide into 8 pieces.
7. Roll out each piece of dough into a 2 foot rope. Flip ends of the rope across each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Boil the pretzels, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds.
8. Place on the baking sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle with the pretzel salt.
9. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Source: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/oven-baked-soft-pretzels/