Ingredients:

Directions:

Combine the ingredients for the sponge (1 cup flour, powdered milk, yeast, honey, malt syrup, and water) in the bowl of your mixer or in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Over the top of the sponge, add the remaining bread flour and yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and let the bowl sit in a warm place until the sponge is bubbling through the flour cover, about 1 to 2 hours.

Mix the dough using the paddle attachment of your mixer until it starts to come together. Then add the oil and salt and switch to the dough hook for your mixer.

Knead the dough using the dough hook for 7 to 8 minutes until it is soft and smooth and can be stretched without tearing. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky, so you may need to add a bit more flour or water during the kneading process.

Shape the dough into a boule and place it in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

When the dough has doubled in size, grease a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan.

Prepare the water bath by whisking together the boiling water and baking soda in a glass loaf pan or baking dish. Let cool enough so you don't burn your hands, then form the dough into a loaf and roll it around in the baking soda bath to cover it completely.

Carefully, because it will be a little slippery, put it seam side down in the prepared loaf pan. Cover it with plastic wrap and again let it rise in a warm place until it has risen about one inch above the sides of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

While the oven is preheating, lightly beat the egg for the egg wash. Brush it all over the top of the pretzel loaf, being careful not to get too much wash along the edge of the pan, which will cause the loaf to stick. If you like, use the tip of a sharp knife to cut shallow, diagonal slashes about 1 inch apart.

Sprinkle the top liberally with the coarse salt.

Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until the internal temperature of the loaf is 185 to 190°F. The crust should be a beautiful deep brown and the bottom of the pretzel bread will give a hollow sound when you thump it.

Let cool for at least one hour prior to slicing.

Notes:

On very warm days or in a warm house, consider reducing the yeast to use one half teaspoon in your starter and loaf.

You can substitute a half-cup of milk if you don’t have powdered milk. You’ll want to scald it – bring it just warm enough to see tiny bubbles at the edge of the pan – so that the milk proteins don’t interfere with the yeast.

You can swap out 1 cup of bread flour for whole wheat flour without much impact on the loaf.

This pretzel bread loaf will remain fresh for several days at room temperature. However, the salt on top may start to dissolve into the bread after a couple of days, so this pretzel loaf is best eaten fresh or sliced and frozen after cooling. To use your frozen pretzel bread, just pop it into the toaster.

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