A first for everything

I love me a good soft pretzel but I've never tried making them myself. So on this long summer afternoon I decided it was about time to give it a whirl. The recipe is a little technical for me (I don't have a thermometer to determine the degree of the milk), I also think my dough was a bit "tackier" than one might want but after fighting with the sticky dough they found their way into the oven and tasted great! Now I just have to master a cheese fondue dipping sauce! :)

1 cup milk

1 package dry active yeast

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon fine salt

1/3 cup baking soda

2 tablespoons course salt

Warm the milk in a saucepan until it's about 110 degrees; pour into a medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let the yeast soften, about 2 minutes; stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup flour with a wooden spoon. Dice 2 tablespoons butter and soften; stir into the mix. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and the fine salt to make a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and grease a large baking sheet. Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. (If the dough seems tight, cover and let rest until it relaxes.) Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 30-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch. Form each rope into a pretzel shape.

Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups warm water in a shallow baking dish. Gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.