Make Your Own Pretzel – That’s How It Works

Make your own pretzel – the ingredients and tools

You don’t need many ingredients and tools for your pretzel:

• Ingredients: For your own pretzel you need 370 ml milk, 500 g flour, 50 g butter, and a teaspoon each of salt and sugar. Also a small cube of yeast, otherwise the pretzels will not rise properly as soon as they are baked. The pretzels don’t turn brown until they’re dipped in a baking soda and water mixture. For this, you need a liter of water and 20 grams of baking soda. It must be house baking soda. Tip: Pretzels baked with cheese also taste very good.
• Note: Baking soda, in combination with water, is corrosive to the eyes and skin. Therefore, you should only add the pretzel to the mixture with appropriate stainless steel tongs or a straining spoon.
• Tools: For the caustic soda you need an enamel-coated pan. You will also need a baking sheet, a container for the dough, and a tablespoon. Since the dough has to rise for a while, you should also have a clean tea towel ready.

Make the pretzel yourself – it works in this order

As soon as all the ingredients and tools are ready, you can start. However, you have to stick to the order:

1. First, melt the butter in a container and let it cool down a bit. Then add the yeast and milk to the mixing bowl. Then crush the yeast and add it as well. Now add the salt, butter, and sugar. Once everything is in the container, you can start kneading. You should take your time, as the dough will be very soft and fluffy. You can also use a kneading machine.
2. Now put the dough in the container in a dark place, also cover it with the kitchen towel. Leave it there for about half an hour, and the amount of dough will increase significantly.
3. While the dough is resting, you can make the caustic soda. To do this, put the water in the pot and add the baking soda. Then bring the mixture to a boil. A quick boil is enough. Before you can dip the pretzel, the mixture needs to cool again.
4. Remove the dough from the container and roll it into individual rolls about 6 to 8 inches long. You should make sure that the middle is a little thicker. Then use the dough to form the well-known pretzel shape. In order for the pretzel ears to hold, you should press the ends lightly into the dough.
5. Now take your tongs and dip the pretzel in the lye for a few seconds. Tip: Instead of tongs, you can also use a straining spoon and dip the pretzel in with it. Then place them on a baking sheet. You now have to put them in the oven at 180 for 15 minutes. Depending on the oven model, you may have to preheat it beforehand.