Making German Pretzels – Recipe

There are many ways of baking a loaf, but only one way of making German Pretzels aka ‘German Brezel’. Of course there are variations out there nowadays, like pretzels made with spelt or even whole grain flour. But the authentic German Pretzel is made with a white flour, dunked in a lye bath and topped with some pretzel salt. The one true difference that is out there in Germany is based in a regional tradition: In the southern region of Baden-Wuerttemberg the ‘belly’ is cut before baking and the ‘arms’ are thinner. In the neighboring region Bavaria the belly does not get cut and the ‘arms’ are thicker. That’s it. Since our Founder Tanja is from the Baden region, we cut the pretzels. 😊

You can make the pretzels in a lye bath or soak them in a baking soda water. The original lye bath brings a distinctive flavor with it and a thinner crust, more like a skin. Also, the coloring of the baked products is slightly different. Even when it needs some caution while handling the lye bath, it is not that difficult as it may sound.

The best way to do it – read the instructions upfront and have everything handy.

! Lye Bath – not for working with kids!
Gloves & saftey glasses are a must! When using food-grade Sodium Hydroxite to create the 4% lye bath, you need to follow strict rules. Always add the SH into cold water, NEVER vise versa or into warm water! Use a non-reactive bowl, like glass or pure stainless steel. Use a stainless steel or non-reactive whisk to disolve the powder. Use a bowl that’s big enough to avoid splashing (makes stains!). Drain the lye bath down your kitchen sink and rinse with cold! water.

How you make the best authentic German Pretzels

We took the guess work of picking the right ingredients and amount of yeast, sugar, salt out of the game and recreated this recipe with our easy-to-use bread mix. You can make 8 classic German Pretzels with half a bag of our CIABATTA mix.

! Note: We meassure ALL ingredients preferably in gramm (solid & liquid, don’t use fl.oz) ! USE a digital scale for accuracy !

Ingredients you need – Dough:
1/2 Bread Mix CIABATTA
65 g / 2.2 oz – water, filtered – @ room temperature
210 g / 7.1 oz – water, filtered – cooled
1 TSP – sugar, fine
20 g / 1.5 TBS – unsalted butter, @ room temperature

Lye Bath, 4% solution:
40 g (!) / 1.4 oz – Sodium Hydroxide
1,000 g / 1 ltr / 1.1 qt. – cooler water
Glass Bowl

-OR-

Baking Soda Water:
1.5 ltr / 1.6 qt. – water, filtered
1 TSP – salt
65g / oz – baking soda
3-4 ltr/qt. cooking pot

Instructions for making German Pretzels

STEP 1 (day ahead)

• into a small bowl weigh out 100 g / 3.5 oz of the CIABATTA mix and combine it with 65 g (2.2oz) water @RT.
• Knead it for 2-3 min until a small smooth ball forms.
• Cover with cling foil, let it sit for 1 hr @RT, then 10-12 hours in the fridge.
• Put the remaining water (210 g / 7.1 oz) in a small pitcher/jar and let it sit overnight in the fridge.

STEP 2

• take the pre-dough/starter out of the fridge about 30 min before you want to go ahead.
• in a large bowl add the cooled water, add the remaining flour mix and stir with a fork until roughly mixed. Then add the pre-dough to it and knead it together for 5-7 min until it’s smooth.
• Now add the very soft butter (in 3 steps) and knead further until all is incorporated. Overall ~10-15 minutes until the dough has an even structure & feels soft. (No more water/flour is necessary)
• Cover and rest for 30 min.

(Tip: you can use a kitchen machine with a dough hook for that step, just start on low speed, before increasing to medium. Add the butter at once, but all timing stays the same.)

STEP 3 

• divide the dough in 8 equal pieces using a scale. Try to get the weight in as few cuts as possible. Shape each in a ~4″ long roll, cover with cling foil and rest for 10-15 min.
• Line 1-2 baking sheets or cutting boards with kitchen towels.
  

Shaping the German Pretzel with a belly

STEP 4 

• Now shape your German Pretzels as shown in the pictures below. (Don’t use flour!) Start with flattening the short roll with your palm, then rolling it up again and rolling it out to a 16-20″ long rope with the belly in the middle. When the dough shrinks back inbetween, let it sit for another 3-5 minutes.
  Rolling: Bring your hands outward while rolling with light pressure and keep the ‘belly’ of the rope. Twist and press the ends firmly on. Set the pretzels on the lined sheets.

• Cover with a towel, let rest for 25-30 min on the counter. Then take away the cover towel and put them in the fridge for 30-60 min to let the pretzels set. ! This step is crucial to create a skin and making the further handling of the pieces more easy.

• Meanwhile:
  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray/brush them very lightly with oil to avoid heavy sticking to the paper after baking.
• Have another small baking sheet ready, lined with parchment paper and topped with a rack to drain later the dunked pretzels. Have also your pretzel salt and a sharp knife handy.
• Pre-heat your oven to 450°F and have it ready before you start the next step.

How to use a Lye Bath for German Pretzels

STEP 5 (the dunking)

• Preparing the Lye Bath – as mentioned above, use saftey equipment (!) for this whole step. In a glass bowl add the water, then carefully the SH powder and whisk it slowly until the powder is disolved. (Be advised, this solution can stain your plain sheets or counter tops. Use evtl a sheet of parchment paper to cover your surface as well.)
  
  Take the pretzel pieces out of the fridge. Dunk them one by one with both hands slowly in the water bath for ca. 5 sec. Let them drain on the rack couple seconds before placing onto the baking sheets.
  
• Preparing the Baking Soda Water – Bring 1.5 ltr (1.6 Qt.) filtered water with 1 TSP salt to a light simmer, then turn down the heat to medium. Add gently (!) the baking soda (to avoid heavy foaming) and stir until disolved. Wait 2-3 min. Put in one/two Pretzels at a time, 50-60 sec/side. Lift them out of the water with a slotted spatula, drain a second before placing onto the baking sheets.
  
• Now, in either option – making a German Pretzel the classic way like the Badens and Swabians, cut the belly with a sharp knife. Sprinkle some coarse pretzel salt over it. Tip: avoid using too much.

STEP 6  – Bake at 450°F for 12-14 min until nice and brown. Rotate sheets for even browning if necessary. Let cool for at least 30-60 min before digging into it.

How to enjoy homemade German Soft Pretzels

What’s pretty traditional in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is a ‘Butterbrezel‘ for breakfast or lunch. For that, you cut a pretzel horizontal and take them apart. Now spread generously butter on one side and put it back together, enjoy! The fresher the pretzel the better 🤩

Another classic way is the Bavarian ‘Weisswurst Frühstück’, special breakfast with a Weisswurst sausage (made with min. 51% veal meat), sweet mustard and a beer. Mostly eaten between 10am and 1/2 pm in a Beergarden setting or Wirtshaus. 🍺

Have you made some German Soft Pretzels yet? Show us your results and tag us on social media @breadista.world with #breadistaworld or send us your pictures via email.