Bavarian pretzels

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 120 g wheat flour type 550 (type 700 in Austria)
• 100 g water
• 20 g wheat starter (wheat sourdough)
• 200 g sourdough
• 300 g wheat flour type 550 (type 700 in Austria)
• 200 g wheat flour type 405 (type 480 in Austria)
• 100 g rye flour type 610 (type 500 in Austria)
• 300 g water, ice-cold
• 14 g fresh yeast
• 20 g butter
• 10 g barley malt, active
• 14 g salt
• 1 liter pretzel brine, 3%
• Salt, coarse (pretzel salt)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 16 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 46 minutes

crispy and low in fat

Wheat sourdough adds flavor and ensures freshness. If you don’t have wheat sourdough, you can use 0.1 g of yeast (a pea-sized piece) to make a poolish. For the wheat sourdough, combine the wheat flour, water, and wheat sourdough in a bowl, mix thoroughly, and cover. Let it mature at room temperature for 8 hours. Then refrigerate the dough overnight. Maximum 12-24 hours; it shouldn’t become too runny or too sour. For the main dough, mix the mature wheat sourdough or poolish with all the other ingredients and knead for 8-10 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Then let the dough mature for 20 minutes. Divide the mature dough into 12 pieces, each about 100 g in weight, roll them into rounds, and let them rest, covered, on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes until the gluten structure relaxes. Roll the relaxed dough pieces into strands and twist them into bulbous pretzels. Press the thin pieces firmly and let the finished pretzels rest on a baking sheet for 15 minutes. Then place the pretzels in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes to allow them to soften. Tip: If the strands shrink a lot, simply give the dough a few minutes to relax and move on to the next piece of dough. If your strands are already bubbling a lot, you’ve let the dough rest for too long. Pretzels are only easy to work with when they haven’t started to develop too much gas, which is why we use ice-cold water. You may need to adjust the resting time depending on the enzyme activity of your flour. To make the pretzel lye, I dissolve 30 g of sodium hydroxide pearls in 1000 ml of lukewarm water. Make the lye in a shallow plastic or glass container and wear gloves! Don’t be afraid to work with real lye; the results are simply much better than with baking soda. Preheat the oven to 250°C (top/bottom heat). Carefully dip the cold, slightly cracked pretzels into the pretzel brine and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. It’s best to use two layers of parchment paper, as the brine often eats through the pretzels. You should use two baking sheets, each with six pretzels. After soaking, generously sprinkle the pretzels with road salt and immediately bake for 16 minutes at 250°C, then reduce to 230°C. For a crispier finish, wedge a wooden spoon in the oven door to allow steam to escape through the small gap. Optional: After baking, spray the pretzels with water for a nice shine.