Ingredients:

1  tablespoon  instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
1.5 Tablespoons brown sugar or granulated sugar
1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (around 100°F/38°C)
2 Tablespoons (14g) unsalted butter or Lard, melted and slightly cooled
(Lard is traditional)
1 teaspoon (7 gr) salt
4-5 cups (550-600g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed to make a dough that stays together and cleans the sides of the mixer bowl.

Pretzel Salt or Coarse salt, for topping

Sodium hydroxide bath
8 cups water in a stainless bowl
2.6 oz ( 75 grams) Sodium Hydroxide
or follow dilution instructions on the package.

Optional ingredients to optimize your pretzels
1 teaspoon diastatic malt
Sourdough starter

Directions:

1. First decide if you are going to make your pretzels on the same day or
you can wait and make them tomorrow. I prefer to let the dough sit overnight, as
it gains flavor and the dough has better texture.

If your going to make the pretzels the same day as the dough, make sure the water is warm,
about 100-105 degrees F if you are using regular dry active yeast, and bloom the yeast in the warm water.
If you are using instant yeast you can put it right into the flour.
(make sure your yeast is fresh)

2. Gather the rest of your ingredients together;
the flour, Brown Sugar, salt, butter, yeast and water.
In this picture I have the yeast in the water already.

I am also showing in this picture the sourdough starter and the diastatic malt, optional
ingredients to optimize your dough, we will go over this option later.

3. Blend all the ingredients together,
I like to use a dough whisk, for this. Somties the mixer doesn't get it all worked in evenly.
Let this sit for 15 min to let the water soak in before you knead it.
This is called letting the dough autolyze.

4. Knead the dough in the stand mixer with the dough hook, for about 5-8 minutes until the dough clears the bowl and gathers around the hook. If it doesn't add about 50 grams or 1/4 heaping cup of flour and that should do it.
Cover the dough and let it rise for about 30-45 min till about doubled in size.


Let's Shape the Pretzels

5. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. I like to weigh them out. They will be about 240-270 grams each.
These are large pretzels, and very festive. You can of course make them smaller, or into different shapes.

6. Take each piece and flatten it out. with your hands, "degassing" the dough. Roll it up jelly roll style. This makes for a uniform rope to roll out. Pinch the seam on the dough together with your fingers.

7. Roll out the ropes to about 30 inches.Leave the center large and roll with both hands toward the ends to taper the long rope of dough down to a point.

For the Swabian Pretzel you leave the center very large, and the arms very thin.
Different from the Bavarian style.

Now cross the two arms....

Twist the arms 1 or 2 times. Traditional is once, but with this big pretzel twice works great, and bring them up to the top and press in place. The arms need to go all the way to the edge of the pretzel or they will come loose as it rises.

8. Place the formed pretzels on a sheet pan, preferebly with a silicone baking mat. However a greased pan works great as well. Now place all the pretzels in the fridge for a few hours, to form a nice dry skin on top This way the dip won't penetrate the skin but just give it the nice crispy dark crunchy crust we love.

Let's Dip the Pretzels and Bake them

Make the dipping solution

9. Weigh out the sodium hydroxide and measure the water. Pour the water in a thick glass baking dish or a stainless steel pan first and then mix in the sodium hydroxide. Not the other way around, you don't want it too splash or make fumes.
Do not use thin glass dish or aluminum pan.

Pre heat the oven to 475 degrees F

10. Dip both sides of the pretzel in the bath for about 5 seconds each side. It doesn't take long for the
pretzel to get enough solution. lift it up and drain it for a few seconds then lay on the baking mat or greased pan.

Score the pretzle through the middle of the belly of the Pretzel. fro about an inch away from the arms of the Pretzel.

11. Sprinkle a bit of Pretzel Salt or coarse salton the pretzels.
Bake the pretzels for 7 min, then rotate the pan and bake for another 6-8 min depending on
how done you like them. When they brown well they are done, if you want to measure they should be
about 210 degrees internally.
If you are going to freeze them and then rebake for later, then I would not brown them as much.

12. If you are going to freeze the pretzels, then put them directly in the freezer UNWRAPPED.If you wrape them they will get soggy. When they are completley frozen then wrap them and keep in a storage bag. in the freezer.
To reheat just pop them in the oven for about 5 min on high heat to crisp up or in the air fryer.