Homemade Pretzels (twist it baby!)

This is THE best recipe to prepare the saltiest soft pretzels! Look no further, my hubby tested it and we are sharing it here. Enjoy!  

Hubby is bringing tasty trends at home thanks to his travelling, here's another one that we are crazy for: 

• Kurtos Kalacs or chimney cakes

Ingredients

• 500gr all-purpose flour (T45 or T55)
• 300ml milk
• 10gr yeast (or 2 dry yeast packages)
• 1.5 teaspoon of salt
• 30gr butter
• 1.5lt of water
• 40gr baking soda
• coarsed salt (to sprinkle on top)

Procedure

1. Warm the milk, add the yeast and wait a few minutes for it to activate.
2. 
   
   Use your mixer with the dough hook and mix first the flour, the salt and the melted (but cool) butter and then add the milk-yeast mix. Mix until you obtain a nice dough that doesn't stick.
3. 
   Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and allow it to grow for about 1h30 in a warm environment (or use a steam over to accelerate the procedure like I do :) TIP: If you are impatient, not waiting much won't make a huge difference :)))
4. Boil the water in a casserole where you have added the salt and the baking soda. In the meantime, cut the dough in 10 parts adn with your hands form the pretzels either in the traditional shapes like in photos or innovate and do your own ones (ideas: small balls, twists, sticks, ...)
5. Drop them in the boiling water one by one and once they come up in the surface, take them out in a big plate that you have covered with kitchen paper.
6. Preheat the oven in air and 200 degrees of Celsius. Use a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and place the pretzels sprinkling the coarsed salt on top.
7. Bake for about 15min.

Enjoy! (Draft beer fits nice together, although I do not like alcohol ;)