Country Fair Soft Pretzels
["1 envelope active dry yeast", "1 1/4 c. warm water", "2 tsp. salt", "4 to 5 c. flour", "4 tsp. baking soda", "1 qt. water", "coarse (kosher) salt"]
["Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water; stir in remaining 1 cup water.", "Mix", "salt with 4 cups flour in large bowl.", "Add dissolved yeast.", "Add", "enough", "additional flour to make stiff dough.", "Knead 10 minutes or until dough feels elastic.", "Round dough", "into", "ball. Place", "in lightly greased bowl, turning to coat", "dough.", "Cover; let", "rise in warm place until doubled in bulk,", "about", "45 minutes. Pinch off small amount of dough and roll", "between", "hands to form coil about 20 inches long and 1/4 inch", "in", "diameter.", "Shape", "coil as pretzel.", "(Make a loop by carefully", "picking", "up", "ends and forming a loop in the center; bring left end over to the right and right end under the left, forming a", "twist", "at top of loop.", "Turn the ends over and back onto loop, pressing ends against sides.) Repeat with remaining dough.", "Dissolve", "baking", "soda", "in", "water and bring to a boil. Drop one", "pretzel", "at a time into boiling water and let boil 1 minute", "or", "until", "pretzel", "floats.", "Remove; drain.", "Place on buttered", "baking", "sheets.", "Sprinkle with coarse salt.", "Bake at 475\u00b0", "for", "12 minutes or until golden brown.", "Place on rack to cool.", "The treat is yours."]
["active dry yeast", "water", "salt", "flour", "baking soda", "water", "coarse"]