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Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,936
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Have you ever made pretzels?

I was watching a taped Restaurant Impossible yesterday and Robert was showing how to make pretzels.  Unfortunately he didn't get past the grinding the wheat stage.  Does anyone do this?  I prefer those rock hard Snyders Pretzels.  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 32,486
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

@depglass Yes we have done it and they are excellent!  You boil them in water with I think baking soda in it?  Something like that, then bake them and they were SOOOO good. 

 

You can even make the dough in the bread machine I think.  They weren't hard to make, but it took a few steps.  I believe Kind Arthur has the recipe we used.

 

Good luck if you try it!  WOW were they good.

Super Contributor
Posts: 353
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

[ Edited ]

Hi @depglass , yes I've made them several times.  The recipe I use is for soft pretzels, if you google Smart Cookie soft pretzel recipe it comes up.  It's on All Recipes and the cook goes by Smart Cookie.  I'm not sure how to make crunchy pretzels.....

~~Keep calm and hug your pets~~
Regular Contributor
Posts: 156
Registered: ‎07-12-2012

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

I've used a recipe from Half Baked Harvest.  It is pretty similar to the recipe mentioned above. Very easy!

 

Super Contributor
Posts: 255
Registered: ‎09-20-2017

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

I made them years ago.  They are a bit of work but so good while they're still warm.   I used to make homemade bagels too!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

I make homemade soft pretzels a couple of times a month. They're really good. To make "real" soft pretzels (and hard pretzels are just over-baked soft pretzels) you need to use a lye dip. You can buy food-safe lye through multiple vendors online. It's traditionally used in lots of different cooking applications in addition to making soap.

 

Here's my go-to recipe for soft pretzels.

 

1 1/2 half cups (355 gms.) warm water

2 tsp (5 gms) yeast

1 tsp (5 gms) table salt

4 1/2-5 cups (621-690 gms) all-purpose flour (You'd think bread flour would be better, but it's not. At least not for me.)

38 gms liquid malt extract (optional.)

 

The dip will use 2 oz lye and 40 oz. of water and you'll need pretzel salt for topping.

 

I start this recipe pretty early in the day as the dough will spend an hour or longer in the freezer before baking. I just dump all of the pretzel ingredients (not the dip ingredients) together into my mixer with the dough hook and let it mix/knead the dough for five minutes or so. (I typically find the lower amount of flour (621 gms) to be ideal. It'll make a pretty stiff dough.) I then place it into a greased bowl to let it rise until doubled.

 

While it's rising I typically really clean off the kitchen table that I use to roll out the dough into the long ropes for the pretzels. Mine tend to be almost thirty inches long, so you need some space. Since I don't want any cleansers rolled into the dough I use just plain old water and paper towels to clean the table, but I really scrub it to get it as clean as possible.

 

When the dough's risen, drop it out onto the table (or counter). It should be a  pretty stiff, easy to handle dough. Divide it into eight pieces. Halve the whole mass then halve each half and halve each half and you've got eight pieces. Easy-peasy. I do a step you don't often see here and that's using a rolling pin I flatten each of the eight pieces into a rectangle (or square, whatever the dough wants) and then roll it up into a log. This helps with the soft pretzel interior texture later on. If you eat soft pretzels on a regular basis you'll notice how inside there's often a rolled bit of dough. This is how I achieve that. I don't go for length at this point, just roll them into logs bout six to eight inches long or so. I then set them aside in the order I roll them up. If you try to roll them out to the full length now, they'll fight you.

 

When you've got all eight flattened pieces of dough rolled into the logs the first one you rolled into a log has relaxed enough that you can now start rolling it out into a longer thinner rope. I tend to aim for about a thirty-inch long rope at this stage. You'll want a couple of baking sheets lined with parchment paper sitting nearby to put the pretzels on when they're shaped. I don't oil or spray the parchment, just leave it natural. With the thirty (or so) inch long rope you simply form a loop with two long tails, give the tails a twist (or two if you want to get fancy) and then pinch them down onto the loop to make the pretzel shape. Set them aside on the baking sheet. Each baking sheet should hold four pretzels. When the first four are on the baking sheet, into the freezer they go and they'll stay there for an hour or longer. (All day or even several days is fine also.) When the second four are shaped they also go into the freezer for an hour or longer. There's no need to cover them, wrap them or do anything other than slide them into your freezer if you're using them that day. They'll stay there until you're ready to dip them and bake them.

 

On to the lye dip. It's a pretty dilute (5%) lye solution, but whenever you're handling lye it pays to be cautious so gloves and safety goggles are a good idea, but if you're careful you can get by without the goggles. I would wear gloves regardless. Rubber or nitrile gloves are fine. Just make sure you don't splash the lye solution if you aren't wearing goggles. Pour the water into a stainless steel, glass or plastic container. I use a stainless steel mixing bowl or the stainless steel bowl from my mixer. Always put the water in first then sprinkle in the lye afterward and keep your face away from the lye when you sprinkle it in as the lye will release some vapors when it hits the water and you don't want to be breathing it in. In all likelihood, the lye will cake up in the bottom of the bowl and be a cloudy mess. It will take a bit of gentle, careful stirring with a stainless steel or plastic spoon or stirrer. (I use a stainless steel iced tea spoon) to get it ready to use. It takes a minute or two of stirring to break up the clump and get the lye fully dissolved. The cloudiness will disappear and it'll look like clear water when it's ready. You may not think it'll ever get there, but keep stirring and it will.

 

At this point, you simply preheat your oven to 450 degrees and dip each frozen pretzel in the lye dip for about twenty seconds. Longer will give you a darker finished skin. Twenty to thirty seconds seems to be ideal for me. I do it one pretzel at a time. I lift a pretzel off the cookie sheet (still covered in parchment) and slide it into the lye dip. While it's taking a bath I sprinkle a bit of pretzel salt on the spot where it was. (Pretzel salt is also available online.) I then remove the pretzel from the lye dip (after 20-30 seconds) and let it drip most of the lye solution off and set it on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. (Being frozen makes it very easy to handle the pretzels.) A bit more pretzel salt gets sprinkled atop the wet pretzel and that one's done and onto the next. When the first four are done, into the preheated oven they go. (They'll still be frozen but it doesn't matter.) If you're going for soft pretzels, start checking them about twelve minutes in and pull them out when they're how you like them. (Some people, like me, like them a bit underdone, others like them more overdone, do whatever you like.) If you want hard pretzels, a lower temp (350 degrees) and a much longer cooking time (40-50 minutes?) should give you the results you want.

 

When they come out, it pays to let them cool just a bit before eating them (five minutes or so anyway) as they're very hot, but they'll be the best homemade soft pretzels you've ever eaten. The color, taste, and texture will be pretty close to the best you can find in the real world. This is by far the best soft pretzel recipe I've ever used. A lot of the recipes use butter and brown sugar, but I find that it gets in the way of the real soft pretzel flavor and texture. If you read the ingredient list on real soft pretzels they tend to be flour, salt, yeast, and water, nothing else. 

 

A lot of people get scared off by the lye dip, but if you want a "real" soft pretzel, it's essential. Lye was a regular part of most households a hundred years ago and was used regularly in lots of interesting ways. I just pour my used lye solution down the drain to help keep the drain open.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,739
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

[ Edited ]

Surprising as it sounds, the pretzel has great historical and spiritual significance for Lent. In fact, it used to be the Lenten bread in the early centuries of the Christian era. The faithful in the old Roman Empire kept a very strict fast all through Lent — no milk, no butter, no cheese, no eggs, no cream and, of course, no meat. Instead, they made small breads of water, flour and salt, to accompany their meagre fare of vegetables, fruit, and fish. To remind themselves that Lent was a time of prayer, they shaped these breads in the forms of arms crossed in prayer, and called them "little arms" (bracellae). This Latin word eventually became the Germanic "pretzel."

Thus, the pretzel is the most appropriate food symbol for the season of Lent. It still shows the form of arms crossed in prayer over the chest, reminding us that Lent is a time of prayer. It consists of flour and water only, thus proclaiming Lent as a period of fasting. That pretzels are eaten today all through the year is only accidental. In many sections of Europe they are still served only from Ash Wednesday to Easter, thereby keeping the ancient symbolism alive.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/16 teaspoon salt
• cold milk
• caraway seed
• coarse salt
Details

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Difficulty:  ★★★☆

Cost: ★★☆☆

For Ages: 15+

Origin: Europe
 
 
 
 
 
 


DIRECTIONS

Mix together flour, egg yolks, melted butter and salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly add milk until dough is smooth. Place dough on floured board. Beat dough with end of rolling pin for about 15 minutes. Roll small pieces of dough into pencil-like strips. Form into pretzel shape. Drop into boiling water and boil for approximately 5 minutes. Remove pretzel from boiling water; place in refrigerator overnight. Place pretzels on baking dish. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with caraway seed and coarse salt. Bake at 400° until crisp and brown.

Recipe Source: Catholic Cookbook, The by William I. Kaufman, The Citadel Press, New York, 1965
Honored Contributor
Posts: 43,246
Registered: ‎01-08-2011

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

@cherry LOVE the interesting information you post my friend!  Such unexpected nuggets!Smiley Happy

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,035
Registered: ‎06-29-2015

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

@gardenman , thanks so much for such an informative post, as well as your recipe! I'm definitely going to keep it, and will be making them.

You're the best!

 

TY to the OP for starting the thread.

Muddling through...
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,250
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Have you ever made pretzels?

We had an Aunie Anne's pretzel kit when DS2 was in 1st or 2nd grade.

Probably one of the first things he ever made.  He's an Executive Chef now.