My mom would have loved these

My mom loved pretzels. But she did NOT love soft pretzels. She likes her meat cooked to death and her fruit hard and sour. Maybe she was just being ornery. Very possible.
But she would have definitely loved these pretzels, even though they're soft. They're kind of chewy on the outside and crispy on the bottom and soft on the inside and buttery and salty. And they're all gone. No joke, they were out of the oven at 12:05p and it is now 1:03p and my dad and brother are eating the last of them. Granted, there were only 7 and I ate at least 1.5 myself. I think I will probably be making another batch before 24 hours have gone by. This time I will maybe try to make them more pretzelish and less dough ballish, but maybe not. They would make a damn good sandwich this way.

Soft Pretzels
adapted from someone's blog who thought these were as close to Auntie Ann's as you could get and was definitely wrong (no offense, they're just not)

1 1/2 c warm water
1 1/8 t active yeast
2 T brown sugar
1 1/8 t salt
1 c bread flour
3 c flour

2 c warm water
2 T baking soda

Kosher salt, to taste
2-4 T butter, melted

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar and salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a bowl with a little melted butter and turn dough over to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and let rise for one hour.
Prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 T baking soda in a pie plate or shallow wide dish. Whisk until dissolved.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
After dough has risen, punch down and pinch off handfuls of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 in or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel into soda solution and place on baking sheets covered with parchment. Allow pretzels to rise again about 20 minutes. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and enjoy!