Dissolve yeast in warm water in a medium bowl.

Add salt and sugar to the yeast mixture.

Blend in the flour and knead the dough until smooth, about 7-8 minutes.

Cover and let dough rise for 1 to 1.25 hours, or until doubled in bulk.

Grease several cookie sheets.

Punch the dough down and cut it into 12 pieces.

Slightly beat the egg and set aside.

Roll each piece of dough into a thin rope.

Twist each rope into pretzel shapes.

Place the pretzels on a greased cookie sheet.

Brush the top of each pretzel with beaten egg.

Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Let the pretzels rise until almost doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bake the pretzels for 10-15 minutes, or until browned.

Serve warm, or store in an airtight container after cooling.