How to make
Dissolve yeast in the cool milk and leave it for 10 minutes until it bubbles. Mix the flour into a bowl with the salt and sugar. Make a well in the middle, pour the soft butter in it. Slowly add a little of the milk with dissolved yeast at a time and knead a soft dough.
Put the dough onto a floured surface and knead a few minutes until you get a smooth and elastic dough.
Divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Arrange them on a lightly floured surface, cover with a towel and let rise for 20 minutes. Cover a tray with baking paper, sprinkle with baking spray and preheat the oven to 360°F (180 °C).
From 1 dough ball, make 1 long wick (about 8″ (20 cm)) - the ends need to be thinner than the middle. Intertwine the ends two times to get a bagel and press the protruding ends toward the dough again.
Shape all of the balls of dough this way. Arrange them with spaces in between them in a tray and cover with a towel. During this time, make the mixture for smearing as follows: boil 3 1/3 tbsp (50 ml) of milk, add the baking soda, stir and remove from the heat.
Allow the mixture to bubble and spread it on the bretzels. Add salt, sprinkle with poppy seeds and put to bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.
