Soft Pretzels

Mix together water, yeast and sugar in a bowl (of the stand mixer) to activate the yeast

Combine flour, brown sugar and salt in a separate bowl

Once yeast is foamy, add the flour and melted butter

Knead this mixture until you have a soft dough that is smooth and elastic, by hand or stand mixer

Shape the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled (about an hour)

Preheat your oven to 230 degrees Celsius

Add 2 litres of water and baking soda to a large pot and bring to a boil

Meanwhile, divide the dough in 6 equal pieces (about 100 gram each) and roll out each piece of dough until you have a 60 cm long rope

Form the rope into a U shape with the two ends pointing away from you, take the two ends and cross them, left over right, about 5 - 7 cm from the ends and then cross the ends again, right over left. Lightly moisten the two ends with water and fold the two ends down and press them into the bottom of the U at the 5 and 7 o'clock positions

Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper

Gently place 2 pretzels at the time (top of the pretzel facing down) in the water and boil the pretzel for 30 seconds, then turn them over and boil for another 30 seconds

Remove the pretzels from the water and place the pretzels back onto your prepared baking sheet

In a small bowl whisk egg yolk with the milk and gently brush the top of the pretzels with the egg wash

Sprinkle the pretzels with some sesame seeds on top

Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown