New Years Soft Pretzel

1 1/2 cups warm (110) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups flour
2 ounces unsalted butter
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and salt and yeast. Sit for 5 minutes.
Add the flour and butter and mix on low speed with dough hook until well combined. 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. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and sit in a warm place for approximately an hour or until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Use a silicone sheet or parchment paper on a sheet pan. Set aside. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan.  In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other to form the shape of a pretzel.  Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Put them on the sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and top with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to cool on a rack.

~ These pretzels tasted excellent! The tradition of pretzels eaten on New Years Day are said to bring good luck to the coming year. ~
Carol  :)