Mix 4 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons salt in another bowl. Add the dissolved yeast to this mix. Add enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Knead this for 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic.

Roll the dough into a ball. Place it in a greased bowl, turning it twice to coat the top. Cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place until it is double in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Divide the dough into quarters, then divide each quarter into 4 balls of dough. Take one of the balls of dough and roll it between your hands to form a coil 20 inches long and 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter. Shape the coil into a pretzel shape, pinching the ends to the shaped pretzel. Shape remaining dough.

In a pot, dissolve 4 teaspoons of baking soda in 4 cups of water; bring to a boil. One at a time, drop the pretzels into the boiling water and let it boil for 1 minute or until the pretzel floats. Remove the pretzel and drain.

Place the drained pretzels on buttered baking sheets. Sprinkle the pretzels with salt. Bake at 475 degrees for 12 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Place on a rack to cool. Serve warm or cool pretzels with or without mustard.