Soft Beer Pretzels

1. In a small saucepan, heat beer to 110-115 degrees; remove from heat. Stir in yeast until dissolved. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, yeast mixture, and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). 2. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. 3. Preheat oven to 425. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape dough into eight balls; roll each into a 24-in. rope. Curve ends of rope to form a circle; twist ends once and lay over opposite side of circle, pinching ends to seal. 4. In a dutch oven, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels, two at a time, into boiling water. Cook 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain well on paper towels. 5. Place pretzels 2 in. apart on greased baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with course salt. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to a wire rack to cool. TO MAKE PRETZEL ROLLS: Divide and shape into eight balls. Roll each into a 12-in. rope. Starting at one end of rope, loosely wrap dough around itself to form a coil. Tuck end under; pinch to seal. Boil, top, and bake as directed. TO MAKE PRETZEL BITES: Divide and shape into eight balls; roll each into a 12-in. rope. Cut each rope into 1-in. pieces. Boil and top as directed; bake at 400 for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8 dozen.