• In the morning or the evening before, feed your sourdough starter.
• Once the starter is ready to go, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the dough ingredients and use a fork to combine it into a thick and rough dough.
• Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and knead it until it is smooth and strong. For optimal gluten development, the dough should be worked and kneaded for around 8 minutes. Take a break if you need it, it will get easier to knead if you let it rest for a bit. Alternatively, mix the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed.
• Once kneaded, place the dough ball in a bowl and cover it. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until it has almost doubled.
• Once the dough has risen, place it in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.

The next day

• Pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball.
• Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (a kitchen scale works well to ensure even pretzels) and shape each dough into a smooth ball. Let these dough balls rest for 5 minutes.
• Take a piece of dough and roll it out into a 24inch/60cm long rope. If the dough resists, let it rest a little longer. Take the two ends of the rope and bring them together at the top and twist the ends together.Fold the twisted ends down.
• Place the shaped pretzels onto individual pieces of parchment paper. Let them rest at room temperature for around 1-3 hours until puffy. When they have nearly finished puffing, preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.

Poaching and baking

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and once the water is boiling, stir in the baking soda. Take care as it will foam.
• Line a baking pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Carefully drop the pretzels on their parchment paper squares in the boiling water, in batches one at a time. Remove the paper once the pretzels are in the water.
• Let them poach in the water for 1 minute, flipping them after 30 seconds. Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and place them on the baking sheet.
• Bake in the oven for around 18-20 minutes until deep brown. If they are baking unevenly or your oven has hot spots, turn the oven tray around after 15 minutes of baking.
• Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping.
• When the pretzels come from the oven, let them cool slightly, then brush with melted butter while they're still warm, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.