2 tbsp melted butter or buttery spread (dairy free for vegan version) or 2 tbsp water
1 c minus 2 tbsp water, warm to the touch but not hot
2 tsp baking soda
Pretzel salt or coarse sea salt
Instructions
Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook. Mix on medium speed until combined, scraping the sides if necessary and adding up to an addition tbsp water. The dough should be a little sticky.
Increase to medium speed and knead for 10 minutes. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
In the last few minutes of rise time, fill a wide pot with a couple of inches of water and bring to boil. Add 2 tsp of baking soda to the water and whisk to dissolve.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and spritz a baking sheet with nonstick spray
Divide the dough into 8 portions. Roll the dough into long snakes using your hands and twist into your favorite pretzel shape. The dough will puff up more, so make them just a little thinner than you want your pretzels.
Drop your pretzels one or two at a time into the water, boiling for about 20 seconds or until they float. Scoop out with a slotted spatula, shake off the excess water, and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little coarse salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
Let boiled pretzels rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Bake for 9 minutes then switch to broil for 1 or 2 minutes until brown and toasty on top.
Notes
While many pretzel recipes call for the butter to be brushed on top, I preferred to bake a little butter into my pretzels instead. This helps temper the wheaty feeling you can get with whole wheat baked goods (and it also helps to use white whole wheat). Be firm when shaping the pretzels to ensure they don't come apart in the water bath (i.e., press the seems together securely).