Now stir in an additional 1 1/4 cup flour, and knead until the dough loses its stickiness. Let the dough rise in a covered, greased bowl until it doubles in bulk.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 pieces for traditional pretzels or 36 smaller pieces for pretzel sticks.

With your palms, roll the 12 pretzel pieces into 18-inch lengths about the thickness of a pencil, tapering the ends slightly. Loop the 18-inch length into the traditional pretzel shape, and place on a greased baking sheet. Or, lay the 36 pretzel pieces out side by side.

Allow the dough to rise until approximately doubled in bulk.

In a large bowl that is not aluminum, prepare a boiling solution of

4 cups water
5 tablespoons baking soda

With a slotted spoon, carefully lower the pretzels into the water for about 1 minute or until they float to the top.

Return the pretzels to the greased baking sheet and sprinkle with course salt (Sea Salt).

Bake the pretzels until they are crispy and browned, which is about 12 minutes for the traditional shapes and less for the pretzel sticks.

The pretzels are best served at once, but can be stored up to a week in an airtight container. Be sure to cool before storing. But why wait?

Order a stein full of beer – preferably Hofbrauhaus sized – and enjoy your pretzels as they were meant to be eaten ... with good beer and good friends.

Prost!