Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F. This is for the dough rise cycle.

Add in the melted butter, table salt, and 1/3 cup of the flour. Mix using the dough hook until combined.

Add in the remaining 1 cup of flour and continue to mix until it forms a sticky ball of dough. Add in small amounts of additional flour if it needs it.

Leave it in the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer to do the kneading by letting it run for a few extra minutes. You can also put the dough on a floured surface and knead it by hand for about 5 minutes.

Place it back into the bowl, if you kneaded by hand, and add a small amount of oil to the bowl. Turn the dough to coat all sides and cover the bowl with a damp towel.

Turn off the oven, place the bowl inside, and let it rise for about 1 hour.

Remove the bowl from the oven and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring 8 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil in a large sauce pan.

While that comes up to heat, punch down the dough and divide it into 4 equal portions.

Roll each one into a long log shape.

Form the pretzel dough into twisted pretzel shapes, roll them long and thin for pretzel rods, or cut them into 1 inch pieces for pretzel bites.

Drop each pretzel into the boiling water. Let them boil for 30 seconds on the first side then gently flip them over for another 30 seconds.

Whisk the egg with the 1 teaspoon of cold water until well combined.

Brush the tops of the pretzels with the egg wash mixture and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.

Serve warm with your favorite mustard or cheese sauce. Enjoy!