Golden Soft Pretzels

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 2 cups warm water in a large bowl; let stand until bubbling, about 10 minutes. Beat butter, egg, and 1 teaspoon salt into yeast mixture until smooth. Mix in 2 cups flour to make a wet dough. Stir remaining flour into dough, 1 cup at a time, to make a stiff dough. Form dough into a ball.

Grease a large bowl and turn dough around in greased bowl to coat. Cover lightly with a kitchen towel, place in a warm area, and let dough rise until doubled, at least 1 hour. Punch dough down.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease baking sheets.

Divide dough in half; cut each half into 8 pieces. Roll pieces out on a floured surface into ropes about 1/2-inch thick. Shape each rope into a pretzel.

Bring 5 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan and dissolve baking soda in the boiling water. Boil pretzels, a few at a time, in the baking soda water for 10 minutes. Arrange pretzels on prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Bake in the preheated oven until pretzels are shiny and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.