PRETZEL THINS PROFESSIONAL

Using a baking soda bath is a common approach for home pretzel bakers. Making pretzels at home with a baking soda bath

The dough can then be scored, salted, and baked.ĭon't expect to find food-grade lye (100% sodium hydroxide) in grocery stores, but it's readily available online in the US. After a few minutes, transfer the dipped pretzel to a silicone or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Then remove the pretzel and place it on a steel rack over parchment paper to catch any excess solution. Transfer your shaped pretzel to the bath for 10 to 15 seconds. While wearing eye protection and rubber or latex gloves, mix 37g of lye powder/pellets into a bowl holding 4 cups ( 907g) of cold water and stir to dissolve. It is highly corrosive, after all, but with the right preparation and a careful approach, working with it isn't as daunting as you might think. Let's acknowledge: lye can be a little scary. As you can see, they baked to a beautiful mahogany color with a glistening crust. The pretzels shown above were dipped in a 4% lye solution using the process outlined in BREAD, by Jeffrey Hamelman, before being scored, salted, and then baked at 450☏. Pretzel purists often argue a pretzel isn't really a pretzel unless lye is used. Traditional German pretzels are first dipped in a 3% to 4% lye-to-water bath before baking. You can decide which works for your kitchen. Let's take a look at each method for preparing a pretzel bath. The exterior crust will still be somewhat soft the coloring looks brown rather than deep mahogany there's far less of a sheen on the crust and the typical pretzel flavor is there, just not at the same magnitude.Įven though each approach to the alkali bath results in a different outcome, both styles taste quite delicious. Using a baking soda bath, which isn’t nearly as caustic as lye, produces a similar result, but not nearly at the same intensity. This reaction gives each pretzel a chewy crust, mahogany color, glossy sheen, and that unmistakable pretzel flavor typical of a German soft pretzel. Lye is a strong alkali that can be dangerous if misused, but it's lye that enhances the Maillard reaction on the outside of the dough.

PRETZEL THINS PROFESSIONAL

While there's a variety of ways to shape pretzels, which we'll look at later, the part that sometimes separates the home baker from the professional baker is the way they prepare the alkali bath: When making pretzels at home, most use common baking soda, whereas many bakeries use lye (caustic soda) for the bath.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and cool on a rack.Making a traditional soft pretzel at home can be done in much the same way as at a professional bakery: Mix the dough, leave to ferment, shape, dip in an alkali bath, and then bake. Simmer the pretzels for about 30 seconds on each side, then return them to the baking sheet.īrush the pretzels with the beaten egg/water and sprinkle with the topping.īake the pretzels for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're a light golden brown.

Gently transfer the pretzels, 3 or 4 at a time, to the water bath. Reduce the boiling water bath to a very gentle simmer. Shape each rope into a pretzel and place them on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll each piece of dough into an 18' rope, allowing the ropes to rest for a brief period if they start to shrink back. Bring the water to a boil while you're shaping the pretzels.ĭivide the dough into 12 pieces if you have a scale, each piece will weigh about 2 1/4 ounces. Put the water into a large, shallow pan - the water should be about 3' deep - and add the baking soda and malt powder. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and fold it over a few times to gently deflate it. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350☏. It should be slightly sticky if it seems dry, knead in another tablespoon or two of water.Ĭover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes. Mix and knead the dough ingredients - by hand, mixer, or bread machine - to make a cohesive, fairly smooth dough. Weigh your flour or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.

Pretzel thins