These were sourdough soft pretzels, again!
Lesson learns from the first time: pretzels will rise quite a lot during baking. Yes, I remember it. So, this time I shaped them bigger and thinner, keeping the large "windows" open. At that point, they looked like, yes, pretzels.
I wanted to have a darker color. Maybe dipping in the mixture of hot water and baking soda wasn't enough. As several King Arthur Flour reviewers did, I boiled my pretzels in a baking soda bath. My pretzels quickly expanded and became spongy and fragile. Oh-oh. I carefully scooped my pretzel out from the bath. The windows were getting close. Oh-oh. Before the windows close completely, I felt I should put them in the oven. On the other hand, I wanted to try one more thing before that. To ensure darker color, I brushed my pretzels with egg wash. They looked messy. It didn't matter at that point. All I could do was place them in the oven.
Following some KAF reviewers' comments, I baked them at higher temperature - 400 F instead of 350 F. The result was, well, I saw slight improvement in terms of shape. Slightly. The color didn't get darker, which was surprise. The taste and texture were as lovely as the first batch. I don't know what to do to make the shape and color better, but I can make them tasty. It's my conclusion.
