Auntie Greta's Authentic Soft Pretzels

Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Let stand until foamy.

Add salt, flour, and melted butter to the yeast mixture. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, then shape into a pretzel.

Place pretzels on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bring water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot. Be careful, it will foam up!

Gently drop each pretzel into the boiling water for 30 seconds per side.

Remove the pretzels from the water and place them back on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Brush the pretzels with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake in a preheated oven until deep golden brown.

Let cool slightly before serving.