Make the Dough

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a mixing bowl.
2. Pour in the flour, then the salt, and lard.
3. Knead by stand mixer: If you’re using a stand mixer, stir everything together with the dough hook briefly to make a rough dough, and then knead the dough on low speed until it is elastic and forms a ball around the hook–about 2-3 minutes. It will feel stiff but elastic, kind of like silly putty.
   
4. Knead by hand: If you’re mixing by hand, stir all the ingredients together with a spoon to form a rough dough. From there, turn out the dough onto a work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth–about 5 minutes.
5. Cover the dough to rest and rise for 1 hour.

Roll the Pretzels

1. Turn out the dough onto a work surface and divide it into 8 pieces.
   
2. Roll each piece into a long snake about 12 inches long pressing with your hands from the center outwards.
   
3. If the dough starts resisting rolling, leave it and come back to it later; this gives the gluten in the dough a chance to relax again before being asked to stretch more.
4. Once you’ve rolled each piece, lengthen each piece to about 18-20 inches, leaving the middle the thickest, and tapering the ends. I call this step SNAKE for my students.

Shape the Pretzels (Snake, Jump rope, Fish, Dive)

1. Line two sheet pans with silicone baking mats or well-greased parchment

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   paper.
2. Take each snake and form it into a U-shape (jump rope).
   
3. Twist the ends of the jump rope over each other once (fish).
   
4. Twist the fish’s tail a second time.
   
5. Bring the fish’s tail down over the middle part of the pretzel (dive), pressing the ends onto the body of the pretzel firmly so that they stick. Now you have a lovely pretzel. Place the pretzel on one of the prepared sheets and then continue shaping pretzels following the same sequence.
   
6. Place 4 pretzels on each sheet.
   
7. Cover the pretzels to rest in the fridge uncovered for 30 minutes.

Make the Alkaline Solution

1. While the pretzels rest, boil the water for the baking soda solution in a small pot.
2. Add in the baking soda, whisking until the baking soda dissolves.
3. Pour the solution into a small bowl to cool slightly.

Preheat the Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C).

Brush on the Baking Soda Solution

1. Brush the rested pretzels with the baking soda solution, making sure to get all the top surfaces of the pretzel. Brush on one thin layer on each pretzel and then brush on a second layer in the same order you brushed them.
   
2. Use paper towels or a kitchen towel to soak up any solution that might be pooling at the bottom of each pretzel. Doing this will keep the bottoms of the pretzels from sticking and also keeps the pretzels from getting too much baking soda flavor.
3. Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt.
   

Score and Bake

1. Just before baking, make a horizontal cut about 2″ long on the thickest part of each pretzel with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors

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   .
   
2. Bake the pretzels for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
3. The pretzels should be deep golden brown and the surface will bounce back when you touch them.

Brush with Butter

1. Immediately after baking, brush the soft butter onto the pretzels. The butter will keep the crust soft and give it even better flavor!
   

Whipped Dill Cottage Cheese

1. Add all the ingredients except the chives to a blender or small food processor

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   . Whiz everything together until smooth. Scoop the dip into a small dish to serve alongside your pretzels, and then sprinkle with the chives.