Home made German Pretzels

There was a recipe in the January Food & Wine magazine (p.57) for German style pretzels. This was in the "What to cook next" section of the magazine, although I find it hard to imagine the average home cook opting to cook with food grade lye, which this particular recipe calls for.

Yes, I am goofy enough to go ahead and order the lye from www.essentialdepot.com and try it out.  And, yes, the recipe turns out some flavorful, awesome pretzels. But you better be very careful because that lye is dangerous stuff.  The recipe is from chef Hans RÖckenwagner of Los Angeles.

Here is the recipe verbatem from Food &Wine:  

Ingredients
3 3/4 cups bread flour (20 ounces), plus more for dusting
1 1/2 cups warm water 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
10 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup food-grade lye micro beads 
Coarse salt or pretzel salt, for sprinkling

Directions
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 3 3/4 cups of bread flour with the warm water, yeast, kosher salt and butter and knead at medium speed until the flour is evenly moistened, 2 minutes. Increase the speed to high and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms around the hook, 8 minutes.
 

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Cover loosely with a dry kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and form each one into a ball. Cover the dough balls with the towel and let rest for another 5 minutes. 

On an un-floured surface, roll each ball of dough into an 18-inch-long rope, tapering them slightly at both ends. To shape each pretzel, form the rope into a U shape. Cross the ends over each other twice to form the twist, then bring the ends to the bottom of the U and press the tips onto it. Arrange the pretzels on 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper and let stand uncovered in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until slightly risen. Refrigerate the pretzels uncovered for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 400°. While wearing latex gloves, long sleeves and safety goggles, fill a large, deep ceramic, plastic or glass bowl with the lukewarm water. Carefully add the lye (always be sure to add lye to water, never the other way around) and, taking care not to splash, stir the solution occasionally until all the beads have fully dissolved, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, gently lower a pretzel into the solution for 15 seconds. Carefully turn the pretzel over and soak it for another 15 seconds. With the spatula, remove the pretzel from the lye solution and return it to the baking sheets. 

Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt and bake on the top and middle racks of the oven until shiny-brown and risen, about 17 minutes; shift the pans halfway through baking. Let the pretzels cool slightly on the baking sheets before serving.

Pretzel buns

My first batch (uncooked and cooked, above) came out as pretzel "buns" which tasted great, but since they rise again after you form the shape, there was only a faint resemblance to a pretzel. I was after pretzels, not buns, so I made a second batch with skinnier dough ropes. The second batch worked nicely.

They are delicious, but their goodness only lasts a day or so, unless you freeze them unsalted and reheat in the oven at 275º for about 20 minutes, if you do this, moisten with a little water and salt them before reheating. 

If any of my local friends want to try this recipe, stop by our house for some lye, I have plenty left.