Pretzel

The dip before baking is what makes the skin, not the oven.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (butter).

Ingredients

• 500 g strong white flour
• 7 g dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 20 g butter, softened
• about 280 ml warm water
• 30 g bicarbonate of soda, baked, for the dipping bath
• 1 litre water, for the bath
• coarse salt, to finish

Method

1. THE DIP BEFORE BAKING IS WHAT MAKES THE SKIN, NOT THE OVEN. Its article ties the two together: salt is the most common topping, COMPLEMENTING THE WASHING SODA OR LYE TREATMENT that gives a pretzel its skin and its flavour, ACQUIRED THROUGH THE MAILLARD REACTION. An undipped pretzel is a bread roll in a knot.
2. SO THE BATH IS ALKALINE AND THAT IS THE WHOLE TRICK. Alkali on the surface lets the Maillard reaction run at a much lower temperature, which is why the skin goes mahogany while the crumb stays pale and soft.
3. FOOD-GRADE LYE IS WHAT BAKERIES USE AND IT BURNS. If you will not handle it, bake bicarbonate of soda on a tray at 150 degrees for an hour first: it drives off water and carbon dioxide and leaves a stronger alkali than the raw powder. Weaker than lye, and enough.
4. MAKE A FIRM, LOW-HYDRATION DOUGH. Stiffer than bread, because the shape has to hold through a wet dip. Knead ten minutes, rise one hour.
5. ROLL EACH PIECE INTO A ROPE THICK IN THE MIDDLE AND THIN AT THE ENDS. The middle becomes the belly that splits, the ends stay chewy.
6. THE KNOT IS THE ARTICLE'S OWN DESCRIPTION: THE ENDS OF A LONG STRIP OF DOUGH INTERTWINED AND THEN TWISTED BACK ONTO ITSELF. Cross the ends, twist once, and lay them back on the belly.
7. CHILL THEM UNCOVERED FOR THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE DIPPING. A skinned, cold surface takes the bath without going slack.
8. DIP FOR THIRTY SECONDS EACH, NOT LONGER, with a slotted spoon and gloves. Too long and the surface turns soapy and grey.
9. SLASH THE BELLY, SALT IT, AND BAKE IT HOT AND FAST. Two hundred and twenty degrees for twelve to fifteen minutes. The slash is where it opens; without it the skin splits wherever it likes.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Germany · All recipes