Soft Rye Pretzels

This recipe is, once again, from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. I've yet to be disappointed by anything I've made from her book.

Dough
1package (2 1/4t) active dry yeast
1T honey
1 c rye flour
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1T kosher salt

Bath
1/2 c baking soda

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1 1/2 cups of warm water, add honey, then stir in the flours and salt.
2. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and kneadin up to 1/2c of all purpose flour until the dough is tacky, soft, and supple, about 10 min.
3. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a towel until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. While the dough is rising, heat your oven to 450 degrees and oil or butter 2 baking sheets. Place racks in oven so one is on the bottom third, the other onthe top third. (This is a trick I've learned from this book and it seems to make everything cook really evenly.)
5. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured board and divide it into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a thin log with tapered edges about 17 inches long and then form into appropriate pretzel shape.6. Place the shaped pretzels on the oiled baking sheets and let them rise for 15-20 min.
7. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the pretzels are proofed and the water is boiling, add the baking soda. (This will bring back memories of science class volcanoes of baking soda/vinegar.)
8. To prepare the pretzels,gently place them in the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds on each side. Pat off any excess water and transfer back to the baking sheets. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt.
9. Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.
10. Transfer to a cooling rack.

11. Eat! They're best when warm (but you can heat them up in the toaster oven

the next day and they're still delicious). We ate them just plain but next time I think I'll try them with spicy mustard (Uncle Pete's Sweet Hot Mustard, perhaps) or potentially with some jalapenos and cheddar cheese in the dough...I'll keep you posted.