Prepare the Baking Soda Bath by adding baking soda and water to a large saucepan and mixing to dissolve the soda. Put on the cooktop, but don't turn the heat on just yet.

Prepare Baking Trays: Set aside a baking tray by the saucepan. Put parchment paper between the other two and set them aside.

Make Dough: Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with water and sugar, whisk to dissolve the sugar, and then add the yeast. This activates the yeast. After the yeast becomes bubbly, give it ten minutes to settle.

Add the salt and melted butter, then quickly stir with the hook attachment.

Add the flour to the bowl gradually and mix on medium-low speed until a dough forms. When the dough is no longer sticky and starts to pull away from the bowl, gradually add the remaining flour until it bounces back beautifully when you poke it.

Knead Dough: Place the dough on a surface dusted with flour and knead it for two to three minutes, or until a smooth dough forms.

Warm Up the Baking Soda Bath: Give the water and baking soda one more stir, then turn the heat up to high and begin to boil the water.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make Room: Make sure your workplace is large enough, whether it's on a spotless table or counter. Space is required for both rolling out the dough and arranging it on trays or cutting boards. This recipe yields enough dough to line two large baking pans or cutting boards.

Cut Dough: Cut the dough in half, then in half again, using a dough cutter, until you have sixteen pieces. Slice it in half, working with one piece at a time, and then roll it out into a long, thin log that is approximately 12 inches long and between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Place the log on a clean surface or a big cutting board that has been gently floured. Continue until 15 12-inch rods are filled into your big cutting board or surface, or until half of the dough has been rolled out. Then, to make 6-inch rods, cut each one in half with the dough cutter.

Proceed with the remaining dough.

Baking Soda Bath: Add four to five pretzel rods at a time to the heating water. After poaching for 15 to 20 seconds, carefully remove the rods with a slotted spatula, brushing off any leftover liquid, and set them on the baking pan without parchment paper.

Reshape and put to Baking pan: Some of the rods may bend slightly, so shake off any extra water while they're still warm. Then, put them to the pan lined with parchment paper, and gently reshape straight if necessary.

Wash the rods with salt and egg by whisking the egg in a small basin. Add a dash of pretzel salt.

Bake: Carefully place aluminum foil over the tray, making sure there is room between it and the pretzels. Bake, covered, for an additional 25 to 35 minutes after 40 minutes, or until the pretzel rods are well browned.

If you're baking both trays at once, bake on the two oven racks in the center and switch after the first 20 minutes. After the first 15 minutes of baking, switch racks once again for the remaining 25–35 uncovered bakes.

Have fun!