Gwen's Soft Pretzels

I made a new friend today, who recently moved here from NY, where she owned a bakery.  Her name is Gwen and she makes a KILLER soft pretzel!

Dough -
61 ounces all-purpose flour or approximately 17 cups
4 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons instant yeast (instant is better than active)
4 cups water

Topping - (the topping is what replaces 'boiling' and gives them the brown color and the 'snap')
3/4 cup water
8 teaspoons sugar
8 teaspoons baking soda

Optional - pretzel salt, cinnamon sugar, melted butter

Mix and knead the dough ingredients together until dough is cohesive and fairly smooth.  It should be slightly sticky; if it seems dry, sprinkle it with water.  Cover dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Turn dough out onto light greased surface, fold over a few times to gently deflate it (get the air out, but don't knead), then divide into 4 ounce pieces. Roll each piece into 18 to 24 inch ropes.

In shallow bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Shake rope into a pretzel, then dip into topping. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Bake in a 400* oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter, dip in cinnamon sugar is desired.

*Do not use table salt for topping on pretzels. Use only pretzel or coarse salt, as table salt will soak in while baking.

*This recipe can be halved or quartered, as desired.

*If not measuring flour by weight, hold back 2 cups flour and used to achieve desired consistency.

Everything Topping
Sesame seed
Poppy seed
Minced onion
Minced garlic
salt

For 1/2 recipe of dough:
30.5 ounces all-purpose flour or approximately 8.5 cups
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons salt
1.5 tablespoons instant yeast (instant is better than active)
2 cups water