Bavarian-style soft pretzels with a baked baking soda bath

Stir a little brown sugar into warm water until dissolved; add a little yeast and let sit about 10 minutes.

Add melted butter and about half a cup of German lager; whisk briefly.

Add bread flour and salt and mix by hand into a relatively stiff dough.

Knead on the work surface a minute or two, form a neat ball, return to the buttered bowl, cover and leave overnight on the counter until roughly doubled.

Knead a minute or two until smooth, return to the bowl and let rise two to three more hours, until almost doubled again.

Bake baking soda in a heat-proof dish in the center of a 300 degree oven for exactly one hour; cool.

Very carefully whisk the baked baking soda into two cups of very hot tap water, crushing clumps with the back of a spoon; it irritates skin and eyes.

Check the dough: poked with a finger it should hold the marks. Flatten and press out all the air.

Divide with a bench scraper into eight equal portions (or six or four for bigger pretzels); form each into a smooth ball and rest about five minutes.

Roll each into a sausage shape, press flat into a rectangle, fold a third in from the far edge and from the near edge, pressing with the fingertips.

Roll into a rope about 15 to 18 inches long, leaving the middle fatter for the belly.

Cross the thin ends once, twice or three times and bring them over the top across the belly.

Wearing thin gloves, dip each pretzel in the bath so both sides are coated for at least 20 to 30 seconds; transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan.

While still damp, sprinkle with coarse salt; rise about 30 minutes.

Slash once across the belly with a razor blade or sharp knife, plus optional small slashes for looks.

Bake in the center or upper center of a 475 degree oven for about 12 minutes, until deeply browned; transfer to a cooling rack.