Ingredients
Scale
For the Pretzels
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water
- 1 cup unfed sourdough starter, straight from the refrigerator
- 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
For the Topping
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- pretzel salt
- everything bagel topping
- 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine water, sourdough starter, flour, dry milk, sugar, melted butter, salt, and yeast. Mix on low speed until dough comes together and forms a cohesive dough ball around the dough hook, about 8 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky. Add a tablespoon more water if the dough seems dry.
- Dust the dough with flour, cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for 45 minutes.
- The dough may not double in size, but it will rise.
- Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface, fold it over a few times to gently deflate it, and knead about 5 times.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces, eye-balling it or weighing each piece to a 2.5 ounce piece.
- Roll each piece of dough into an 18″ rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel using the photographic instructions above.
- Dissolve the sugar in the water. Brush the pretzels and sprinkle generously with everything bagel topping and pretzel salt.
- Bake the pretzels for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown.
- Remove the pretzels from the oven, and generously brush with melted butter, if desired.