Let your formed pretzels rest covered for another 30 minutes. You can now place the remaining ends next to the pretzel’s tummy, the thicker part of the dough, and gently press down. Start by placing the rope in front of you horizontally, then take the ends and turn them into of each other once or twice. But that’s okay! Just remember to be careful that the dough doesn’t tear apart. This is the most difficult part of the recipe, and your first batch of pretzels might not look the way you want them to. Now you have to wrap the dough into its pretzel shape.It is important that the ends are thinner than the middles – this is called the pretzel’s “tummy.” Roll over the ropes until they are approximately 24 inches long.Cover and let rest for another ten minutes. Dust your countertop with some flour and roll each ball into a long rope of approximately 8 inches.Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into ten equally sized portions and form each of them into a small ball.Knead everything together, incorporating all of the flour now, until a smooth dough is formed. Pour the rest of the water into the bowl and add the salt and the butter.Cover with a clean dish towel and set the bowl aside in a warm place for approximately 15 minutes. Add 3 ½ fl oz water (7 tbsp) and the sugar to the well, and mix it with the yeast and just a bit of the flour, so most of the flour is still dry with the wet mixture in the middle.Place the flour in a large bowl, make a well in the middle, and crumble the yeast into it.Martin’s Day, is a famous version here in Germany. The “Martinsbrezel,” baked and sold on St. Nevertheless, there are in fact particular types made especially to satisfy your sweet tooth. It may be a matter of taste, but sometimes I really enjoy that mix of salty and sweet! Although salted, they can also be enjoyed with sweet spreads like jam or honey. Lye pretzels (and those boiled in baking soda) have a crunchy, salty crust outside with fluffy yeast dough inside. That’s what I like to do, and the recipe that I share below uses this method. Instead of using lye, similar results can be achieved by boiling in a baking soda solution. Though it’s diluted significantly when this method is used, the baker should certainly be cautious, and protect her eyes and hands. But lye is caustic, and this can be a dangerous process to take on in one’s home kitchen.Īfter all, it’s the main ingredient in drain cleaner. Traditionally, this kind is dunked into a lye solution before baking, and it is sprinkled with coarse sea or kosher salt, or caraway seeds.īoiling in a lye (or sodium hydroxide) solution before baking improves the texture of the dough, and helps to create that brown crust. The type of pretzel described in this recipe is a typical widespread German variety – it is commonly known in Germany as the “lye pretzel.” I’m absolutely positive that your own baked goods won’t outlast the next century, as the ten pieces you get out of this recipe will be gone long before then.

Coarse chunks of sea or kosher salt (or caraway seeds) differentiate the German/Bavarian lye pretzel. They are a good choice for day trips with your family or to bring with you to dinner parties, because you can easily wrap them up and take them with you.ĭid you know that archaeologists found the oldest ever baked pretzel during excavations in Regensburg, Germany in March 2015?Īpparently, it seems someone must have forgotten to turn off the oven – the pretzel survived for 250 years because it was totally carbonized. Why not serve some freshly baked ones for dipping or nibbling at your next celebration? Even though they require some time and patience to prepare, pretzels are a great snack at any time.

German pretzel