Homemade pretzel sticks

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 kg wheat flour, type 550
• 260 ml water
• 260 ml milk
• 150 g butter or margarine
• 1 pack of fresh yeast, 42 g
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 ½ liters of water
• 3 tbsp baking soda (household baking soda)
• Hail salt (pretzel salt)
• Cheese, grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

filled with ham or Vienna sausages or just as cheese sticks, makes 24 pieces

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and mix in the salt. Then heat the water, melt the butter, add the cold milk, and dissolve the yeast in the now lukewarm mixture. Add to the flour and knead everything into a medium-firm dough. Cover the bowl and let it rise for about 45 minutes, until it has doubled in size. Place the dough on the countertop and shape into a log, then cut off 24 pieces. Meanwhile, bring the water for the lye to a boil in a saucepan with a diameter of at least 20 cm, then add the baking soda (careful: it will foam slightly). Now roll out the portions into lengths and roll them into logs. Place the finished logs in pairs in the gently boiling lye, remove them as soon as they float to the top (takes about 5 seconds) and place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Continue until all the pieces have been submerged in the lye. This amount will fit on 2 standard baking sheets. Now you can either sprinkle the pieces with pretzel salt and cut into them about 1 cm deep, or you can cut them and sprinkle them with grated cheese. Bake the baking sheets in a preheated oven at 160°C fan for about 25 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. Tips for filling and variations: It also tastes good if you put about 1 tablespoon of raw diced ham on one end before rolling it up, roll it up, and after boiling, cut all the way to the ham with a sharp knife and then sprinkle with cheese. Children also enjoy a wrapped wiener in pretzel dough. To do this, roll out the dough a little wider, wrap the wiener in it, wrap it up, and boil it. For parties or buffets, you can also make mini ham and cheese pretzel sticks; they are a bit more work but look nice.