Pretzels

How to prepare pretzels

1. Melt the butter and mix with water.
2. Put the ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed. You can of course knead by hand as well. Let rise for at least 1 hour.
3. Place the dough on the work surface, form a log and cut in half. Cut each half in half again... and so on until you have 16 pieces of dough. This way the pieces will be equal and you'll make pretzels similar in size.
4. Each piece is shaped into a finger-thick roll then formed into a pretzel shape: place the roll in a U shape, then twist the ends 3 times like a lasso (press with your finger at the ends so it doesn't come apart), then turn the ends over and press (see photos below).
5. Let rise for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put a large pot on the heat with 1 liter of water and the 2 tablespoons of baking soda and bring to a boil. When the water boils, drop 2-3 pretzels into the water and let boil for 30 seconds, then flip with a spatula and leave for another 30 seconds.
   * Boiling them in water with baking soda is important because it produces a caramelization-like reaction on their surface which will create the well-known dark golden crispy crust that is also slightly chewy. If you boil them too little in this water, you'll just have pretzels that taste like bread with a pale color; if you boil them too much they'll harden. So pay attention to boiling, this step gives pretzels their characteristic taste.
7. Remove from water with a spatula and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush with egg yolk beaten with oil and then sprinkle with your choice of toppings (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt, parmesan).
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 250°C for 25-30 minutes, until golden.
9. Using the same technique, I wrapped hot dogs in dough (twisted the rolls around them) and baked them to make Pretzel Dogs.

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