Pretzel Bread / Rolls Recipe

"Dark-crusted, salted pretzel bread and rolls have been the rage for the last several years now. I'm not talking about the hard pretzels you munch on while watching TV. They're a little closer to the hot pretzels you buy on street corners or at fairs, but not exactly. This recipe will give you a firm-crusted bread or roll with a soft interior that is perfect to accompany dinner or for a sandwich or hamburger. In my recipe, once the dough rises, it is shaped and then "bathed" in a boiling baking soda-water bath for a few minutes before being baked. Traditionally, culinary lye (i.e., food-grade lye) is used instead of baking soda. This alkali solution is what makes the pretzel puff and causes the crust to brown deeply. Boiling before baking is the same way traditional bagels are made, only bagels get a dip in a malted-sugar solution instead of an alkali solution. If you do use culinary lye, wear gloves and follow these pretzel-making tips from About.com's Guide to German Food. If you have leftover preztel bread or rolls, make Chocolate-Chip Pretzel Bread Pudding. Here is a larger photo of Pretzel Bread / Rolls...."