Bavarian Pretzel Recipe

[FishinDave07]

Growing up and camping a lot in PA makes camping in flat Delaware seem odd.:cross:

You probably atleast have some hills. A new little park they opened here in Florida is called Vista View and has tons of hills. Do you know why? It use to be a garbage dump/landfill . Florida is very flat my friend, except in Miami, where the women make up for it

So how about those bavarian pretzels!

 

[Tusch]

Had to do it, this old thread got me too excited.

 

[FishinDave07]

VERY nice Tusch!!!

 

[menschmaschine]

Yeah, Tusch... those have to be made with lye. Can't get browning like that with baking soda or eggwash! Well, I guess it's possible, but in that AB episode, he tried to use lye, but his "lawyers" stepped in a stopped him for liability reasons. I think he was just trying to make the point that pretzels taste better when made with lye. But how would I know... I've never made them without it!:cross:

(FishinDave... southern DE is completely flat like Florida.)

 

[Soulive]

Had to do it, this old thread got me too excited.

Wow, I think I know what I'll be making in the next week or so. I've already got several great mustards and those look excellent...

 

[Tusch]

Hell those were even my Alton Brown baking soda specials. Didn't try to get lye. These are pretty damn good and real easy. But I can't wait to try the real thing.

So yeah, you can get good browning with the baking soda and egg wash, but I can imagine it still can't compare. Alton's recipe takes a couple hours, but only about 20 or 30 minutes of involvement. I let the dough rise for a good hour.

 

[chainsawbrewing]

i had to try this last night. no lye, just baking soda and water boiled them in that for about a minute a piece, and then egg wash.

 

[Melana]

i had to try this last night. no lye, just baking soda and water boiled them in that for about a minute a piece, and then egg wash.

Great picture!

 

[zoebisch01]

Oh hey, yeah I forgot. If you want to make a ton and then on party day, here is what I did...(I don't think I posted exactly what I did earlier)...Just bake them until they are 'set' at the recommended temp. What I mean is just until the dough isn't squishy. They should be pale, not brown. Cool them completely and immediately put them into freezer bags. You must do this or the salt will have water condense on it and make a mess. On party day just throw them onto baking trays and put them in the recommended temp, preheated. As soon as they get all nice and golden brown, they are ready.

 

[GNBrews]

Anyone looking for food-grade lye, try these folks.

2 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Micro Beads

 

[Tusch]

Got the girl in on making them with me the last few weeks, like a batch a week haha. Did one batch of garlic herb pretzels, those turned out freaking excellent. Anyways, thought I'd bump a good thread on good food. Still just doing AB's method of baking soda and egg wash, turn out fantastic every time.

 

[HitLines]

Anyone looking for food-grade lye, try these folks.

2 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Micro Beads

Just placed an order. Hope to be making these soon. Should be a great addition to Thanksgiving.

 

[HitLines]

Here are the results:

They turned out really good. On our second batch, we made a few with cinnamon and sugar mixed into the dough and baked them up. Those were even better. The lye is the secret to perfect browning. The only suggestion for next time is a little more water as the dough was a little tough to work with. Still made great soft pretzels.

 

[teambarber]

WOW! those look amazing! My wife is now wondering why I'm licking my laptop

 

[azscoob]

I whipped up a batch following Kaiser's Laugengebäck recipe from his site, fan-flippin-tastic as usual, its a very similar recipe to this but has a touch of butter and uses DME instead of brown sugar. Nothing like the smell of fresh hot pretzels out of the oven!

And as stated, if you can do the lye bath, it is hard to beat! I have done both the lye and the baking soda, there is a difference, subtle, but it is there, and besides, a bottle of food grade lye will do a load of pretzels! once I tried it I was hooked! and besides I had like 2 tbsp short of 2 lbs of lye sitting around!

 

[Guidry]

Anyone been able to find food grade lye from a local source, i.e. not have to order online? Just wondering sort of stores u could try. I have the urge to try my hand at making some pretzels this coming weekend.

 

[pauljmccain]

Same here. These look awesome. And let's face it, they're basically the perfect beer food.

 

[Guidry]

ALMOST perfect.....I am working out a recipe that will include bacon in the pretzel.

(Thinking I probably shouldn't have said that publicly until after the patent was filed, right?)

 

[menschmaschine]

Anyone been able to find food grade lye from a local source, i.e. not have to order online? Just wondering sort of stores u could try. I have the urge to try my hand at making some pretzels this coming weekend.

Not likely. You could try a pretzel shop or bakery, but I doubt they would sell you some lye if they even have it. Read my post #9 in this thread for an alternative that I won't condone. Otherwise, you're stuck with the far inferior Baking Soda.

 

[Guidry]

So, I wonder where these pretzel shops get theirs?

 

[thegerm]

I started making bavarian style lye pretzels a while back. After a couple of batches it occured to me that the dough consistency was pretty much the same as bagel dough. since then I've foregone the pretzel knot and just been making pretzel bagels dipped in lye, rather than boiled.

I use a 3-4% lye solution. meaning about 30-40 grams of food grade lye beads per liter of water. I use the .01g precision scale I use for measuring hops, as well as lab goggles and thick rubber gloves. Always wear a long sleeve shirt and pants/socks/shoes.

just don't do anything stupid and don't do it after having a homebrew or 2, because lye is serious business. I bought my food grade sodium hydroxide from essential depot via amazon. Shipping was more than the lye beads itself, but you only use a very small amount per batch.

Also, you may want to consider more advanced dough fermentation techniques. I think we as homebrewers can appreciate the need for starters in bread baking as well. I suggest the recipe for bagel dough as well as the fermentation schedule on www.artisanbreadbaking.com.

http://artisanbreadbaking.com/bread/bagels/

If you want the real deal, roll the dough balls into pretzel knots. And like I said, skip the boiling and do the lye dip instead.

 

[madbaldman]

I use a 3-4% lye solution. meaning about 30-40 grams of food grade lye beads per liter of water. I use the .01g precision scale I use for measuring hops, as well as lab goggles and thick rubber gloves. Always wear a long sleeve shirt and pants/socks/shoes.

just don't do anything stupid and don't do it after having a homebrew or 2, because lye is serious business.

Very true. I had the experience of burning the crap out of my arm with lye once. It's mean stuff. Powdered lye mixed with the sweat on your skin will burn you as quickly as concentrated sulfuric acid (been burned by that too). Be careful. Protect your eyes and wash your hands as soon as you're done measuring and mixing. Do all measuring and mixing in/over the sink - that way any spillage doesn't contaminate counter surfaces.

All this may seem silly - until you've been burned by lye.

 

[Bugaboo]

Just ordered some food grade lye over the world wide web and read tons of posts on how dangerous it is (also I've seen Fight Club). Was wondering how you discard your lye water solution? Down the drain?

 

[Beezy]

I am going to sub to this. Love me some pretzels.

 

[azscoob]

I simply dump the lye down the drain while the cold water is running, and let it run for a bit afterward.

 

[remilard]

Just ordered some food grade lye over the world wide web and read tons of posts on how dangerous it is (also I've seen Fight Club). Was wondering how you discard your lye water solution? Down the drain?

Many drain cleaners are lye. Once you have mixed the solution for pretzels, it is much more dilute. You could dump your lye right down the drain and be fine though, it would just be expensive. Just make sure you rinse with plenty of water so it isn't hanging around for ever.

As for danger. You worked with stuff like this in your high school chemistry class. Gloves, eye protection, be smart, do not handle it drunk, keep kids and pets away. The only other major precaution is to add the lye to water and not vice versa. With a lot of lye and a little bit of water the exothermic reaction is violent. If you go lye to water, the container will get a little warm, that is all.

Also if you save a solution (I do of potassium hydroxide for mead and brewing), it can eat through glass eventually so use plastic.

 

[passedpawn]

Word to the wise: don't put your pretzels on wax paper. Argh. Pretzels will stick mercilessly.

 

[azscoob]

The lye makes em super gluey huh?

 

[passedpawn]

The lye makes em super gluey huh?

No. I ordered lye, but it didn't come in yet (and I'm a bit PO'ed about that). So, I made them last night and today with boiling baking soda solution. They are superb. Can't wait to try the lye solution and compare.

I'm planning a big homebrew party this fall - homebrew, homemade sausages, pretzels. Should be fun.

 

[azscoob]

I'm planning a big homebrew party this fall - homebrew, homemade sausages, pretzels. Should be fun.

Mmmmm homebrew party with all the trimmings, I may be down in Cape Coral this fall, I might take the boat up the coast to "visit" you. By visit I mean drink your beer, eat your pretzels and homemade sausages.