Sourdough Pretzels

• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 cup unfed sourdough starter, straight from the refrigerator
• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
•  1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
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Topping

• 1 tablespoon  sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• pretzel salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter, optional

Directions

1. 1) Mix and knead the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a cohesive, fairly smooth dough. It should be slightly sticky; if it seems dry, knead in an additional tablespoon or two of water.
2. 2) Cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes. It will rise minimally. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. 3) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, fold it over a few times to gently deflate it, then divide it into 12 pieces, each weighing about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 ounces.
4. 4) Roll each piece of dough into an 18" rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel.
5. 5) Dissolve the sugar in the water. Brush the pretzels with the solution, and sprinkle lightly with coarse pretzel salt.
6. 6) Bake the pretzels for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Note: This is correct; there's no need to let the shaped pretzels rise before baking.
7. 7) Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush with melted butter, if desired.
8. Yield: 12 pretzels.

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