
To make Pretzels: On the work surface, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or put the bowl in a plastic bag and let the dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes in a draft-free warm place until doubled in size.Let the dough hook knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough is smooth, elastic and not sticky. Blend in the butter, 3 cups of flour, and salt into the yeast mixture.Mix in the yeast and let stand 10 minutes until bubbly. Add the lukewarm water and sugar into a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper and set aside.Once the soda has baked, remove and set aside to cool. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread baking soda in a thin, even layer. 3½ cups (455 grams) all-purpose flour, divided.1 tablespoon (10 grams) active dry yeast.Makes 12 pretzels or 10 rolls Ingredients: Now, I use a BAKED baking soda bath instead and the pretzels are so much better! You can also divide into the dough into 10 and make Laugenbrötchen, pretzel rolls. Originally I used simmering baking soda solution and the pretzels were good.

They are crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside.
#Pretzel recipe how to
This method of how to make pretzels, aka Brezel, is among the easiest I've found. German Pretzel Recipe (without lye) ~ Oma's Soft Bavarian Laugenbrezel He continues with his dad's tradition of making these Laugenbrezeln with a food-grade lye solution, so if that's the recipe you'd like, check it out here. Here's a photo sent in by a Bavarian baker's son. Keep at room temperature.įor an authentic pretzel recipe (using lye) from a Bavarian baker's son: Let cool and place in a well-sealed airtight container to store.Line a baking sheet with foil and spread baking soda in a thin, even layer.BTW, this baked baking soda can also be used for homemade ramen noodles.Įither make just what you need as you start to make your pretzel dough or make enough to store for future use as well. Using BAKED baking soda for the baking soda wash is a great alternative to plain baking soda. I found using a large slotted spoon or a spider, works as well. If you have sensitive skin, you may want to wear some type of latex gloves when dunking your unbaked pretzels. Instead, you're going to make your own food-grade batch to use. But don't use washing soda for this, since that isn't sold as food grade. Think washing soda, because that's what sodium carbonate is. This makes a stronger alkaline solution to dunk the raw pretzels in and gives that wonderful golden brown color and more pretzel-y taste. Simply put, by baking the baking soda, a chemical reaction occurs that turns sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) into sodium carbonate, a stronger alkali, a slightly more caustic soda. They make sharing your German heritage a delicious adventure! What is BAKED baking soda? You can make them smaller or larger, depending on how you plan to use them. The recipe below will make 12 medium-sized pretzels or 10 medium-sized rolls. It's been a continuous quest for that easy recipe and I just recently discovered (thanks to Harold McGee in the NY Times) to BAKE the baking soda instead of using a plain baking soda mixture in boiling water in a large pot that most non-lye recipes use. I wanted something a little bit, make that a whole lot, safer and easier. Using lye for authentic pretzels that taste like they came from a German bakery requires the use of rubber gloves and safety glasses! In the traditional way of using lye pretzels take on a wonderful distinctive flavor and color. Since they aren't available at a grocery store where I live, I need to make them when I get a craving. This started my quest for the perfect German recipe for pretzels. After that, I indulged in traditional Bavarian pretzels whenever I could! It looked very similar to the German soft pretzels, only it was a round roll with cuts in the top and sprinkled with coarse salt. That is, until my recent trip to Germany. When I saw them for sale in Germany, large and bread-like, I just never bothered with them. They're alright, but I always wondered what people saw in them.


Those small little hard, salty things one buys in bags as snack foods. The only pretzel I knew over here in Canada was that little hard pretzel. Make Oma's German pretzels by dunking into a BAKED baking soda solution. The recipe below is a lot safer and here's how. Making authentic German pretzels involves dunking into a caustic lye bath, lye being sodium hydroxide.
