Chef's Book | Recipe Site Yummy Recipes Site
Oktoberfest recipes are always good and even better if made authentic. Here is how to make Pretzel Braids (braided soft pretzels) with lye for the real taste and color!
EQUIPMENT
- large glass or plastic bowl
- slotted spoon
- Cookie Sheet with parchment paper
- scale (recommended)
- Electric mixer (recommended)
- recommended: safety goggles, apron, maybe chemistry gloves
INGREDIENTS
Pretzel Dough
- 500 g Flour
- 7 g Yeast, instant dry
- 15 g dry Malt Powder or 10 g Malt Powder, 3 g Dextrose, and 2 g Soy Lecitin
- 275 g Water room temperature, no chlorine!
- 10 g Salt
- 15 g Butter soft
Lye
- 965 g Water cold
- 38 g Sodium Hydroxide, Food Grade aka Cuastic Soda / Lye
Decoration
- 15 g Pretzel Salt
- some Water in a sprayer
INSTRUCTIONS
Making the dough
- I highly recommend using a scale and the metric measurments for this recipe!
- Put the flour through a sieve into a large mixing bowl.500 g Flour
- Add the yeast and malt (or the mix of malt, dextrose, soy lecithin) and mix in.7 g Yeast, instant dry, 15 g dry Malt Powder or
- Now add the water and start mixing the dough at a low speed until the ingredients have mixed for about one to two minutes. Then add the salt and butter.275 g Water, 10 g Salt, 15 g Butter
- Now increase the speed and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until a smooth dough is created.
- Shape the dough into a sphere, cover it and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Next, divide the dough into 9 portions of about 90 g. Shape them into spheres and let them rest covered for another 10 minutes.
Making the braids
- Take a dough portion and shape it into a long string of about 15 inches / 36 cm.
- Take the end of the string and attach it to the string at about ⅓ from the other end. This creates a loop. Now take the other end of the string and pull it through the loop.
Twist the remaining loop into the same direction of the attached string, then pull the remaining string end through the little loop. Watch the video!!! It shows this very well.
- Next, cover the braids with plastic and let them rise for about 40 minutes. After that time, put them into the fridge without a cover for another 10 to 15 minutes so they create a thin skin.
- While the pretzel braids are in the oven, preheat the oven to 220°C / 430°F and prepare the lye.
Preparing the LYE
- Pay attention and follow the safety instructions in the blog post! Wear safety glasses, an apron and protect your workplace. Don’t touch the lye! Pay attention to the order of mixing the lye.
- In a large bowl, fill in the cold water.965 g Water
- Carefully and slowly add the Sodium Hydroxide, stirring it in without spilling anything.38 g Sodium Hydroxide, Food Grade
- Remove the pretzel braids from the fridge and one after another, carefully put them into the lye, using a slotted spoon. Do not leave them in the lye for long, max. 3 – 4 seconds!
- Place the braids onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkle some salt onto the pretzel braids.15 g Pretzel Salt
- Put the sheet with the pretzel braids into the oven immediately after they were in the lye.
- Bake without steam and without convection (if your oven has it) for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and (optional) mist with a little water from the sprayer to add a little shine.
Storage
- Eat pretzel braids ASAP! They don’t stay fresh for long. You can freeze them very well and reheat them at 400°F / 200°C in the oven.
If you need to store them, use a plastic bag and remove as much air from it as possible.
