Sourdough pretzel

Wow, just wow. Best pretzel I ever had, but not as a pretzel, as a breadstick. 

This is the pet sourdough starter portion that is usually discarded refreshed with water and enough flour to form dough. It is a wet dough and proofs quickly for sourdough culture. It is very fast to get going. 

It wanted to be bread. It needs to be stiffer. Rerolled with additional flour.

But still too wet. This pretzel came out the way baguettes should come out, with an incredibly light and crisp crust and tender bread inside. I've never had a pretzel or breadstick this tender and marvelous. I do not think I can duplicate this. The thing that I did that was different was spray it with concentrated baking soda solution, to replace lye, because I did not want to mess with that. The lightness the spraying produced is extraordinary. Baked at 425℉. 

I cannot overstate how different this is. Usually sourdough like this will produce a thick heavy crust, a pretzel almost entirely crust, but that did not happen. 

If this were reliable enough to pull off for a diner party, it would be extraordinary hot out of the oven as impeccably light breadsticks.