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Dialing in German pretzel recipe

ryanochsner's picture
ryanochsner

Dialing in German pretzel recipe

Hello everyone. I've been researching the perfect Bavarian Pretzel recipe all week. I ran across this recipe here, which is a great recipe for Bavarian pretzels.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/44077/swabian-pretzels-laugenbrezeln#comment-347949

I am still dialing in a few things, and I would like to get some insight from fellow bakers.

 

1. Diastatic Malt Powder vs. Barley Malt Syrup (non-diatstatic):

I've seen recipes call for one or the other. Which is better or more authentic? 

 

2. Amount of time in the Lye Bath:

I've seen some recipes call for 15 seconds, some call for 30. Which is better? Does it matter?

 

3. After shaping the pretzels:

Thomas Kellar suggests resting the pretzels in the fridge for a 2-3 hours. Others suggest up to 8 hours. Aparently this can help develop a nice smooth skin on the pretzel and also firm it up for the lye bath. Other recipes have mentioned freezing for an hour or two. Which would you suggest?

 

4. Lard or butter? Which is more traditional?

 

5. How wet should pretzel dough be? This is a big one for me. The first two recipes I tried were very wet dough, and I think it caused the crust of my pretzel to be extremely blistered. Can wet dough cause this? I am sensing that a pretzel dough needs to be pretty dry. Any insight here?

 

Thanks for any insight!

vlubarsky's picture
vlubarsky

The best recipe I ever used was from Nancy Silverstein.  The were sourdough, lye dipped and easy to work with, not too wet.

 

khkremer's picture
khkremer

You will never make good Bavarian pretzels when using a recipe for Swabian pretzels ;) They are similar, but there are some differences. 

The recipe i use is a combination of these two:

http://www.homebaking.at/laugengebaeck/

https://www.ploetzblog.de/2014/03/08/auf-der-walz-bayerische-brezn/

None of the recipes I've tried use malt. I use butter, never tried lard - that I use only in pie crust. I only dip them into the lye solution for about three to four seconds. 15 or 30 seconds sounds way too long. The lye solution should be about 90F warm. And, pretzel dough is pretty stiff. I keep them in the fridge for about six hours, and that's it, no time in the freezer. 

Hope this helps. 

ryanochsner's picture
ryanochsner

Ha, it took me a minute. Are you from the non-Bavarian part of Swabia? So Swabia is now divided between the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, correct?

Thank you for the info. I did one more test and was able to answer a few of my own questions.

1. Barley Malt Syrup had more flavor than the Diastatic Malt Powder + Sugar. I paired also used a little Pilzner with the water for a beautiful flavor.

2. 30 seconds yielded a beautiful chestnut brown pretzel. A shorter time may be fine for an industrial convection oven, but for a home oven, I think the extra time helps. 

3. After shaping the pretzels, I rested them in the fridge uncovered for about 8 hours (overnight). The texture was awesome. Smooth and shiny after being baked.

4. I used butter again, as I wanted that flavor.

5. I leaned on a much less dry dough this time. It made a world of difference. Blisters went away.

I'll post the final recipe here later.

108 breads's picture
108 breads

So glad there is a discussion about Bavarian pretzels. I just told my daughter, who will be doing research at a Munich university this summer (for the second time), that the one thing I would like her to bring home is a pretzel recipe. Could not stop eating those when we visited. Thanks so much for the advice here.

khkremer's picture
khkremer

We are talking about two different things here: cultural and geographical. Baden-Wuertemberg and Bavaria are geographical regions, but when we talk about Bavarian vs. Swabian pretzels, we are talking culture, and you can probably find either one on either side of the state line. :) You can probably even mix and match and e.g. use a Bavarian recipe, but the Swabian shape... 

As long as you are happy with yours, that's all that counts. 

I would be worried about the lye remaining on (or in) the pretzel when using 30 seconds. I don't think the color (and flavor) has anything to do with how long you dip them. 

bavarianbretzel's picture
bavarianbretzel

do you think it is safe to store the lye in a mason jar in the fridge? I read that lye can dissolve glass. Thoughts?

albacore's picture
albacore

It's news to me that sodium hydroxide can dissolve glass! You will also be using a fairly diluted (but still hazardous!) solution, so glass will be fine. Just watch out for any metals eg in a lid or pan.

Stainless and mild steels are fine, aluminium, zinc, brass, copper are not.

Lance