Pretzels: All tied up in knots
Lye makes them taste delicious but it’s also very dangerous stuff
To lye or not to lye? That is the question when you’re making pretzels.
On the one hand, lye gives pretzels their distinctive flavour, kind of a sharp flatness, if that makes sense. It’s what keeps a pretzel from tasting like pretzel-shaped bread.
On the other hand, lye is ridiculously dangerous. It will burn you if it gets on your skin and blind you if it gets in your eyes. And if you happen to eat it, it can kill you.
That could scare some people, considering that pretzels are generally eaten.
Lye is also used for unclogging drains. It is used to strip paint. And if you’re a gangster with a body that needs to disappear, it can be used for that, too.
So obviously it should be avoided at all costs. Except for that part about it making pretzels taste so good.
I tried the pretzels with lye first; the recipe calls them German Soft Pretzels. I will be honest with you: I was not entirely happy with the way they looked. They tasted fine — even great. But I had a couple of problems with them, even though I tried making them twice.
One problem was that you dip the pretzels into very hot water with lye in it, and the water (or perhaps the lye) tends to make the dough fall apart and lose its distinctive shape.
The other problem is that the pretzels did not brown as much as I thought they would or should.
A solution of lye in water is supposed to give pretzels their characteristic chestnut colour, but mine instead were merely tawny. That is probably because I did not dip them long enough; however, the longer I dipped them the more likely they were to fall apart.
Thankfully, I did not poison anybody. I made a solution of one teaspoon of lye dissolved into one cup of water, which is a perfectly safe ratio of 1:24. Even so, I did not touch the dough with my hands after it had been dipped. The taste was perfect. They tasted like pretzels.
Next up was homemade soft pretzels made without lye. These came from a recipe by Alton Brown, who is usually pretty good with such things.
With this thing, he is excellent. For one, he adds extra calories to the pretzels in the form of melted butter, which is never a bad thing when it comes to baked goods. He also includes a tablespoon of sugar for eight large pretzels; although the sugar is just there to feed and activate the yeast, it is nonetheless a tablespoon of sugar.
This dough is a little less stiff than the one I used to make the pretzels with lye. It also only rises once, which saves time, and it has the lovely brown colour that I couldn’t get with the lye.
How? By dipping them in a solution of hot water and a lot of baking soda.
Baking soda is highly alkaline, though not nearly as alkaline as lye; it is that property that has the browning effect on the outside of a pretzel. It also affects the way it tastes, though because baking soda is not as strong as lye, its effect is not as pronounced.
Still, it’s an awfully good pretzel. Try it with mustard.
German Soft Pretzels
Makes about 20 servings 2 (1⁄4-ounce) packages (1 1⁄2 tablespoons) active dry yeast 1 1⁄2 cups warm (110 F) water About 5 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons food-grade lye (if it doesn’t say “food-grade,” don’t use it), see note 2 cups water Coarse sea, kosher or pretzel salt
Note: We have only been able to find foodgrade lye online.
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer or another large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and set aside to proof until foamy, about five minutes. With the paddle attachment or wooden spoon, beat in enough of the flour, one cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough.
2. Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for five to eight minutes, until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary. Or turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.
3. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil (not parchment paper), grease the foil and set aside. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a floured surface. With a serrated knife or bench scraper, cut the dough in half. Roll one half of the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. With the serrated knife or a pizza wheel, cut the dough the short way across into 1-inch-wide strips. Form each strip into a pretzel shape and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to one hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a small enameled or other non-corrosive saucepan (do not use aluminum), mix the lye and water together. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Using tongs, dip each pretzel into the lye solution momentarily, but so that it is completely coated, then return to the baking sheet.
5. Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Per serving: 116 calories; 24 grams carbohydrate; 1 g fibre; 58 milligrams sodium; 6 mg calcium
Lightly adapted from “Prairie Home Breads,” by Judith M. Fertig.
Homemade Soft Pretzels
Makes 8 servings 1 1⁄2 cups warm water (110 to 115 F) 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 package (2 1⁄4 tsp) active dry yeast 4 1⁄2 cups (22 ounces) all-purpose flour 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted Vegetable oil, for pan 10 cups water cup baking soda 1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp water Pretzel salt or other coarse salt
1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for five minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well-combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately four to five minutes.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
4. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a non-reactive 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
5. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the prepared baking sheets.
6. Place the pretzels into the boiling water one by one, for about 25 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large, flat spatula. Return to the half-sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in colour, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least five minutes before serving.
Per serving: 331 calories; 8 grams fat; 5 g saturated fat; 39 milligrams cholesterol; 8 g protein; 56 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; 2 g fibre; 1,160 mg sodium; 26 mg calcium
Recipe by Alton Brown, via Food Network.