Almost Famous Soft Pretzels

I am not 100% sure if this is the recipe that my sister's brother in law has made for a few gatherings this summer or not but this looks good and worth a try.  Nick's pretzels are out of this world.  He said it was a Food Network recipe and this one is from Food Network Magazine.  I am hoping I can work this recipe to perfection.  The problem is, I may gain 10lbs trying and testing!

For the pretzels

1 C. milk
1 package active dry yeast
3 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 C. all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 tsp. fine salt
1/3 C. baking soda
2 tbsp. coarse salt

For the dipping sauce

1/4 C. mayonnaise
1/4 C. dijon mustard
3 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

Warm the milk in a saucepan until it is about 110 degrees; pour into a medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast.  Let the yeast soften, about 2 minutes; stir in the brown sugarand 1 C. flour with a wooden spoon.  Dice 2 tbsp. butter and soften; stir into the mix.  Add the remaining 1 1/4 C. flour and the fine salt to make a sticky dough.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes.  Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover wiht plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease a large baking sheet.  Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  If the dough seems tight, cover and let rest until it relaxes.  Divide the dough into 6 pieces.  Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 30 inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch.  Form each rope into a pretzel shape.

Dissolve the baking soda in 3 C. warm water in a shallow baking dish.  Gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Prepare the sauce by combining the mayonnaise, mustard, brown sugar and vinegar in a bowl.  Cover and refrigerate.

Melt the remaining 8 tbsp. butter in a shallow dish.  Dip the hot pretzels in the butter, turning to coat; place on a wire rack to let excess butter drip off.  Serve the pretzels warm with the sweet mustard sauce.