Heat milk and butter together until the mixture reaches 110 degrees F. Combine this with a packet of yeast and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir in salt and 2 cups of flour. Beat this on low in your stand mixer for 3 minutes.

Now, slowly add in one more cup of flour. Once combined, dump out onto a well floured surface. Knead this until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Next, place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise for 90 minutes. The dough will have significantly risen.

Make a boiling solution by combining 12 cups of water and 3/4 cup of baking soda together in a large pot. Bring this to a boil while you're shaping your dough. To do this, punch the dough down and divide it into 8 equal pieces. It's really important to form each piece into a tight, smooth ball. Check out this article to see how to form perfect dough balls!

Boil each dough ball for 1 minute and then flip it over and boil the other side for another minute. Remove from the boiling solution with a slotted spoon and set aside. Repeat this process with each pretzel dough ball!

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat. Place the pretzel dough balls onto the lined baking sheet and brush the tops with a mixture of melted butter and garlic powder. Then cut a cross in the top. You can sprinkle these with a pinch of coarse salt, too, if you like!

Remove these from the oven and immediately let cool on a wire cooling rack.

Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!