In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Using the dough hook, mix in bread flour, brown sugar, and salt. Let combine for about 5 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl and spray the bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough back in and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Let rise for at least 30 minutes, or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 425 F and line two baking sheets. Once the dough is ready, punch down and place it on a lightly floured workspace. Divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope. Make pretzel shapes with each rope then place pretzels on the prepared baking sheets.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a couple tablespoons of baking soda and brown sugar stirred in. Before placing pretzels on the baking sheet, carefully drop each pretzel into the water for 30 seconds. After that, place on baking sheet.
Melt the butter in the microwave and brush onto pretzels. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 10 minutes, keeping your eyes on them. If desired, sprinkle additional salt over pretzels once out of the oven.