Fresh German Pretzels (Laugenbrezeln) Recipe
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Too many people think baking fresh german pretzels (how long do pretzels last?) is a hassle and is best left to the professional Bavarian bakers that do it so well. If you're looking for perfect, delicious pretzels it'll take some practice but is definitely worth it once you have it down. For those of you who can't just walk outside to a German bakery and enjoy a cheap, freshly-baked Laugenbrecel, try this recipe.
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Instructions
Place 2 1/2 teaspoons or 7 grams yeast in a dish with a small amount of warm water, cover with a towel, and leave to activate. Meanwhile, start the dough by combining 4 cups or 500 grams of bread flour (how long does flour last?) with 3 tablespoons or 12 grams of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons or 12 grams of fine sea salt (how long does sea salt last?) in a large mixing bowl.
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In a separate bowl whisk together 1 cup or 250 ml of warm water, with a 1/4 cup or 57 grams of melted, unsalted butter, and the yeast. Add the flour mixture cup at a time and bring it all together using a butter knife as a dough hook. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook feel free to use that too.
Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until strong then cover with a tea towel and leave it to rest for 15 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 even pieces to prep for shaping. While you shape each piece cover the rest with a damp tea towel so they don't dry out.
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Shaping
1: To shape the dough, first, take one piece of the dough and roll it out into a rope that is at least 20 inches long. You won't be able to get the full double twist unless it's at least that long. For more traditional shaped pretzels, make the rope longer, keep the middle thicker than the rest of the rope, and score the thick bottom once they're shaped.
2. Form a U shape with the rope:
3. Twist the top of the rope twice:
4. Finally, bring the twist down towards the center and stick them to the bottom of the pretzel:
Alkaline Bath
What gives pretzels that really distinct taste, texture, and shell is a high-alkaline lye bath. Lye is a metal hydroxide and is also used in the production of bagels (how long do bagels last?). You can find lye easily online on amazon or eBay it comes in small granules. Always wear gloves when handling chemicals like lye. Although Lye is safe to eat after it's been baked on bread, it is still a strong corrosive base. Dissolve around /14 cup of lye in 5 cups of water, or a 1:20 lye to water ratio. Always add the lye to the water gently whisking carefully until it is fully dissolved.
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Bathe each pretzel in the solution for 10 seconds on each side. That's how you know if you've made good pretzels when they float. Place the soaked pretzels into onto parchment paper or something else it can drip on while your oven preheats to 350°f.
Lye can be difficult to find, especially if you're not big into online shopping. So alternatively, you can use baking powder (how long does baking powder last?). Dissolve around 1/2 cup of baking powder in a quart of boiling water and bathe the pretzels the same way you would with a lye bath. For around 20-30 seconds, make sure the whole pretzel is submerged. Remove them onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray, sprinkle with coarse salt, and bake in the oven.
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Baking
Pretzels bake quite fast particularly if you have a fan oven. Turn the oven up to 350f and bake the pretzels for 12 minutes on a greased baking tray. Keep a close eye on the ends because they brown and harden quite rapidly. Right before you bake your goods give the bottom a score with a very sharp knife to give a more rustic, traditional feel.
If you take your homemade pretzels out of the oven and find they're too crusty for your taste, you can either cool them covered with a dish towel, or you can melt some butter, add some mustard (how long does mustard last?) and honey, then brush the freshly baked pretzels. This will give them a sweet, tangy twist everyone at the dinner table will enjoy.
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Freezing
Freeze the raw pretzels after giving them their alkaline bath if you're not baking right away. When you are ready to bake them, brush them with a little bit of warm water and sprinkle some coarse salt over them. Bake them under the same criteria for great bread.
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German Pretzels
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 4 cups bread flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup of lye dissolved in 5 cups water or 1/2 cup of baking powder in a quart of boiling water
Instructions
- Place 2 1/2 teaspoons or yeast in a dish with a small amount of warm water, cover with a towel, and leave to activate
- Start the dough by combining 4 cups of bread flour with 3 tablespoons or brown sugar and 2 teaspoons fine sea salt in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk together 1 cup warm water, with a 1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter, and the yeast. Add the flour mixture cup at a time and bring it all together using a butter knife as a dough hook. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook feel free to use that too.
- Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until strong then cover with a tea towel and leave it to rest for 15 minutes
- Divide the dough into 6 even pieces to prep for shaping. While you shape each piece cover the rest with a damp tea towel so they don’t dry out
- To shape the dough, first, take one piece of the dough and roll it out into a rope that is at least 20 inches long
- Form a U shape with the rope
- Twist the top of the rope twice
- Finally, bring the twist down towards the center and stick them to the bottom of the pretzel
- Dissolve around 1/4 cup of lye in 5 cups of water, or a 1:20 lye to water ratio. Always add the lye to the water gently whisking carefully until it is fully dissolved
- Bathe each pretzel in the solution for 10 seconds on each side. That’s how you know if you’ve made good pretzels when they float
- Place the soaked pretzels into onto parchment paper or something else it can drip on while your oven preheats to 350°F
- For around 20-30 seconds, making sure the whole pretzel is submerged. Remove them onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray, sprinkle with coarse salt and bake in the oven.
- Turn the oven up to 350°F and bake the pretzels for 12 minutes on a greased baking tray. Keep a close eye on the ends because they brown and harden quite rapidly
- Right before you bake your goods give the bottom a score with a very sharp knife to give a more rustic, traditional feel
- If you take your homemade pretzels out of the oven and find they’re too crusty for your taste, you can either cool them covered with a dish towel, or you can melt some butter, add some mustard and honey, then brush the freshly baked pretzels
Notes
Freeze the raw pretzels after giving them their alkaline bath if you’re not baking right away. When you are ready to bake them, brush them with a little bit of warm water and sprinkle some coarse salt over them. Bake them under the same criteria for great bread.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
206Fat
5Sat. Fat
3Carbs
36Fiber
2Net carbs
34Sugar
3Protein
6Sodium
915Cholesterol
10
