Homemade Soft Pretzels

This is a picture of the ones I made, by the way. How yummola do these look? They are supposedly an Auntie Anne's Pretzel knockoff recipe. (I just googled it.) I took Auntie Anne's recipe and added a few ideas after reading Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network.

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 TB plus 1/4 teaspoon yeast
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 2TB powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Bath: 4 cups warm water + ½ c baking soda

Egg wash: one egg yolk + 1 Tbsp of water

Toppings:
Salted: Kosher or pretzel salt
Cinnamon Topping: 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or cup. Let sit for a few
minutes until it's foamy. (I also added 2 Tbsp of the powdered sugar to this mix.)
2. Combine 3 c. flour, the rest of powdered sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Blend them together. Then add water with yeast mixture and vegetable oil. Mix on low-med for a few minutes until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. (you'll need to slowly add flour until it does this...I didn't quite need the other 3/4 c like the recipe called for). When it's ready, place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and store in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until dough rises to double in size.
3. When dough has risen, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Make a bath for the pretzels by combining the baking soda with the warm water
and stir until baking soda is mostly dissolved. (I used a stainless steel pot --make sure you use a non reactive pot such as this-- and kept it on medium-low heat the entire time).
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 even portions. Roll each portion on a flat non-floured surface (I sprayed my counter with a little PAM) until it is about 3 ft long. Pick up both ends of the dough and give it a little spin so the middle of the dough spins around once. Lay the dough down with the loop nearest to you. Fold the ends down toward you and pinch to attach them to the bottom of the loop. The twist should be in the middle. (**note, though it is FUN to make pretty twisted pretzels, I found it to be a bit more cumbersome and messy once you get to the "bath" solution. SO, I just cut up my "ropes" into 4" sections and made "pretzel bites." MUCH EASIER to work with.)
6. Holding the pinched ends, dip each pretzel into the bath solution. (I tossed mine in, then waited until they floated to the top--about 10 seconds). Put each pretzel on a paper towel for a moment to blot the excess liquid. (I found it was just fine if I removed the pretzels with a slotted spoon and dripped the excess water back into the pot before sliding pretzel bites onto my baking sheet). Arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray (I used parchment paper to make sure they didn't stick. I sprayed the paper with PAM, too. Worked GREAT). Brush surface of pretzels with egg wash (beat the yolk with the water). If you want salt, sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt or pretzel salt. DON'T salt any pretzels you plan to coat with cinnamon sugar. Bake the pretzels for about 5-7 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown. Baking time will depend on how thick yours are rolled.
7. Now if you're like me, you will eat half the pan as soon as they come out because you are so shocked at how soft & chewy these are. MMM. I made a "nacho cheese" dip for my pretzel bites. I also did some cinnamon sugar ones (for those, just brush tops with melted butter then dip the pretzel in 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tsp cinnamon). These were so fun to make! Hope you like 'em, too!

Makes 8 big pretzels or BUNCHES of pretzel bites.