In a big bowl, mix together 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 and 1/3 cup of water. Let it hang out until it gets some bubbles. About 15 minutes. Stir in the regular salt (not the coarse salt) and then slowly add the remaining flour until you can pick that dough up and knead it. Add more flour when kneading if knead be. See what I did there? But seriously, don't overwork the dough or you'll have tough pretzels.
Divide the dough into a few pieces (5 or 6) and let them take a little nap. They need their rest. Roll out a piece at a time until it's a little longer than a foot and make that sassy pretzel shape. *Personally, I don't roll them thing long and I make more dough piles so I can get a bunch of smaller pretzels.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil and then add the baking soda. Remove from the heat and dip your pretzels in for 45 seconds, flipping them halfway through. Also, do one at a time.
Put those pretzels on a baking sheet and paint with some melted butter and salt to taste.
Bake 8-10 minutes until a pretty golden brown and BAM you're done.