Octoberfest Pretzels

In a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar and salt. Sprinkle the yeast on top, wait 5 minutes for it to foam.

Add the flour and melted butter and mix on low speed with a dough hook, then up the speed to medium for 5 minutes. Add more flour if the dough doesn’t pull away from the bowl and begin sticking to the dough hook. You can also knead the dough by hand for about 8 minutes on a floured surface.

Remove the dough from the bowl and grease the bowl. Return the dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Set it on top of a 450 degree preheated oven for an hour (or another warm, draft free place), or until the dough has doubled in size.

Line 2 baking sheets with foil or parchment paper, spray with cooking spray and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring the 10 cups of water to a boil, adding the baking soda and stir to combine. Use a deep enough pot so it doesn’t boil over when you drop the pretzels in.

Roll out the dough and section it into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and then shape the rope into a pretzel. You can also cut pieces out of the rope to make “nuggets.”

Carefully drop the pretzels into the boiling baking soda and water mixture and wait 30 seconds. Remove the pretzels with a wide slotted spoon and transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat until all of them are boiled.

Brush each boiled pretzel (or pretzel nugget) with the egg wash and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake at 450 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the nuggets if necessary.

Cool on a baking rack and serve with your favorite dipping cheese or mustard!