Brezeln (German Pretzels)

Overhead view of 3 large brezeln topped with pretzel salt on a sheet of parchment paper.

Soft and chewy insides, with a thin brown crust, these extra large German Pretzels are worth the effort and one of my favorite snacks.

Prep Time3

Cook Time30

Total Time3 30

Course: Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine: German

Keyword: bread, pretzel

Servings:

Calories: 488kcal

Equipment

Stand Mixer
Glass Bowl
Stainless Steel Slotted Spoon

Ingredients

Dough

350 grams all purpose flour
150 grams whole wheat flour
8 grams instant yeast
300 grams water lukewarm
20 grams butter softened
10 grams kosher salt

Lye Bath

1 liter water
37 grams lye

Pretzel Salt

20 grams pretzel salt

Instructions

Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the all purpose flour (350 grams), the whole wheat flour (150 grams) and the instant yeast (8 grams).
Pour in the lukewarm water (300 grams), softened butter (20 grams), and kosher salt (10 grams).
Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough on low speed until smooth, about 10-15 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball and place back in the mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a lid or some sort of cover and leave somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes - 1 hour.
Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Shape: Part 1

Once doubled in size, knock the air out of the dough by punching it down. Then, briefly re-knead it by hand. Do not use any extra flour from this point forward.
Pat the dough into a fat square. Use a bench scraper, knife, or your hands to divide the dough into 4 equal logs.
Working with one log at a time, pat the dough into a flat(ish) log. It should be just over 1/4" thick. This part doesn't need to be precise. Cover the remaining logs with a kitchen towel.
With the log laid out in front of you horizontally, start with the long side furthest away from you and fold it just over itself towards you. Almost as if you are going to roll it up but after each fold/roll, smush the edge into the rest of the log to press out any extra air.
Continue this folding and sealing until the flattened log is rolled up into a tight log. When you get to the opposite long side, seal the edge to the rest of the rolled log.
Place the log seam side down and use the heals of your hands to roll the log to about 36"-40" long. For a traditional shape, keep the center of the log a bit fatter to get that fat belly.
If needed rub a little olive oil on your hands and work surface to create a bit of tension.

Shape: Part 2

Once it is long enough take the (now very long) log and shape it into a bit of a wide U. Cross both ends over each other so you have a bit of a bunny shape. Think a rounded triangular shape at the bottom with two long tails (8" approximately) coming off the top. If possible check the photos for better reference.
Then cross the ends over each other again so they are now twisted together and not just crossed over one another.
Pick up both ends and flip them down over the rounded triangle to the bottom corners of the triangle. About 1/2" up from the ends of the tails, press them into the bottom corners of the triangle.
You should now have something resembling a pretzel.
Transfer the shaped pretzel to one quarter of the lined baking sheet, reshape as needed.
Repeat with the remaining logs of dough.
Once all pretzels are shaped, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450 F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Place another one, one to two slots below it.

Lye Bath

Place an empty baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven (you want it to get nice and hot).
Once the oven is hot and the pretzels have been in the fridge for an hour, it's time for the lye bath. Refer to the tips section earlier in the blog post for all the information and precautions when working with lye! Most importantly, wear gloves, eye protection, work in a well ventilated space, use a glass or stainless steel bowl, and add the lye into the water, not the other way around.
In a large glass bowl, add in 1 liter of water. Sprinkle with 37 grams of food grade lye. Use a stainless steel slotted spoon to stir it until the water becomes clear again. This is when the majority of the fumes will be released so I recommend being close to the window or even outside for this part.
Take the pretzels out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap.
Place one pretzel at a time, ideally with the top (the side with the tails pressed in) face down into the lye bath. The tails, may come unstuck but that's ok just be gentle. Leave it to float for 15 seconds. Then, use a slotted spoon and another stainless steel tool to carefully flip the pretzel over. Leave it to float for another 15 seconds.
Carefully lift the pretzel out of the lye bath with the two stainless steel tools. Allow the excess lye bath to drip off.
Place the pretzel back on the parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pretzels.
Be intentional about where you place the pretzels because they are hard to move once on the parchment paper.

Score and Salt

Sprinkle the top of each pretzel with your desired amount of pretzel salt. I like a lot but you can always do less if you prefer.
Use a bread lame, razor blade, or knife to cut one slit in the belly (the bottom fat part) of each pretzel. The slit doesn't need to be very deep.
Bring your sheet of scored and salted pretzels next to the oven. Measure out a 1/2 cup or 125 milliliters of water in a measuring cup.

Bake

Place the baking sheet with the pretzels in the oven, on the middle rack.
Immediately after, pull out the bottom rack with the baking sheet and pour the water onto it. Quickly close the oven to trap in the steam and bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, rotate the baking sheet with the pretzels 180 degrees. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until they become a deep golden brown color.
Once baked, take the baking sheet with the pretzels out of the oven. Place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Use oven mitts or a spatula to transfer the pretzels to their own cooling rack. This allows any excess moisture to evaporate rather than soak back in.
Allow the pretzels to cool for another 10 minutes before serving!

Notes

Don't be intimidated to use lye, be cautious, but try it out! It is so worth doing to get that delicious flavor and beautiful brown color. These pretzels are definitely best the day they are baked but they re-crisp beautifully! If needed store them in an airtight bag at room temperature overnight. To re-crisp, preheat the oven to 400 F, spritz the pretzels with a little water, add extra salt if needed, and bake directly on the rack for 5-10 minutes.

This dough is stiff so make sure your mixer is set on low speed. You don't have to use a mixer for this dough as it comes together pretty quickly but if you are kneading it by hand, start in a bowl until it all sticks together and then dump it out and knead until smooth. It's important the dough is smooth (doesn't have to pass the window pane test) to get smooth pretzels.
Rising/proofing time will vary depending on the temperature of your water, butter, and room. Just be sure that the dough has doubled in size before dividing and shaping it.
This recipe uses instant yeast because it's easier and usually what I have on hand. If you use active dry, I recommend stirring it in with the water and leaving it to sit for 5-10 minutes, until bubbly, before adding it to the flour.
Don't use extra flour when shaping the pretzels because the dough is already quite dry.
Because the dough is on the dry side, it can be hard to form them into the initial log with any surface tension. If that happens, rub a little olive oil on your hands and work surface so the dough can stick to itself a bit better.
Don't start the lye (or baking soda bath) process until your oven has heated. The pretzels become quite sticky once they have been dipped and you don't want all the extra moisture soaking in to them.
Be sure to bake until they have become a dark golden brown color. The lye will cause them to darken so allow it to do it's work and bake them for the full amount of time.
If you want to double the recipe, I recommend leaving one batch in the fridge until the first batch is done baking.

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