are pretzels dipped in lye
Unboiled pretzels are puffier, cakier, drier. The boiled pretzels are marvelously dense and chewy. It’s like the difference between a dinner roll and a bagel. Authentic German Soft Pretzels. Adapted from this recipe. *It is easier to dip the pretzels if you’re working with a large amount of lye solution. In Germany they come in knots, sticks, rolls, twists and all sorts of different shapes that are used for making sandwiches or just for eating with butter at breakfast. Even in America I've seen croissants dipped in a lye solution and baked or pretzel pigs in a blanket. What really makes it a pretzel I think is the fact that it's dipped in an alkaline solution before baking. That's what gives it that really amazing crust, that characteristic flavor, that leathery texture and that dark color that we expect with a pretzel. Pretzels - Lye Dipped. Here are my latest lye dipped pretzels: These were made using KA Sir Lancelot flour and the recipe here: http://www.cs.uml.edu/~dm/brezla-2/. I have had great luck with this recipe. When the lye solution is hot, just below a simmer, dip each pretzel in the lye solution for 10 or 15 seconds, then remove to your baking pan. Repeat with the others, sprinkle them with salt and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. There’s no end to the fun when you know the basic bread dough ratio! The other day I was reading Jeffrey Hamelman's recent book Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes when I came across his pretzel recipe. His recipe requires a pate fermente overnight, a long fermentation, and a bath in a solution of water and lye, which means rubber gloves and goggles are required. Unboiled pretzels are puffier, cakier, drier. The boiled pretzels are marvelously dense and chewy. It’s like the difference between a dinner roll and a bagel. *It is easier to dip the pretzels if you’re working with a large amount of lye solution. Sprinkle salt over the pretzels, reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees, and bake the pretzels for 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the pretzels. The pretzels will get quite dark, thanks to the lye—this is a good thing and does not mean they are burning. According to McGee, the lye reacts with carbon dioxide in the oven to form a harmless, edible carbonate.. McGee also notes that commercial pretzels are sprayed with a 1% lye solution, baked, then dried till crunchy, and that you can also simply use baking soda to achieve the same result you get from lye. You shape it into that iconic shape, then you dip it in an alkaline solution (the baked baking soda and water). It's a small percentage of baking soda to water. You dip the pretzels into the solution, put them on a baking sheet, pop them in the oven and then you have freshly made pretzels.
Yes, When the lye solution is hot, just below a simmer, dip each pretzel in the lye solution for 10 or 15 seconds, then remove to your baking pan.