Making homemade pretzels and lye pastries is not difficult at all. This easy recipe is sure to succeed - I promise!
I think Bavarians like me soak up the love of pretzels and Co. already as a child 😉 . Even if not everything went smoothly on the first attempt, now I am a big fan of my home-baked pretzels.
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Taste and Occasion
Even if there are pretzels in Germany at every gas station, discount store and bakery for little money, nothing beats the homemade alternative! And what many "bakers" offer as homemade and at high prices is, in truth, unfortunately often only a baked frozen dough. Therefore: Into the kitchen and make these homemade pretzels yourself!
Ingredients
The ingredients are very basic. Moreover, it is a simple, salty yeast dough. Only the dipping in the lye, which leads to the typical coloring and an extraordinary taste, is tricky (some more info on that later). You can, of course, form rolls, sticks, or knots from my pretzel recipe.
You can also play nicely with the size of the homemade lye pastries. For example, I formed cute-looking mini pretzels, tiny pretzel curls, and little sticks. Perfect for little hands of children 😉 . For the pretzel recipe, you need soft butter; if you want the pastry to be vegan, use margarine.
How to make Pretzels and Lye Pastries
Read the recipe well, then you will succeed with the homemade pretzels and lye pastries for sure. First of all, crumble the yeast into the lukewarm water for the pre-dough and mix with the sugar until the yeast is dissolved. Now, put the flour into a mixing bowl and press a large hollow with a spoon.
Next, pour the yeast water into the hollow and stir with a bit of flour from the edge with the spoon. Let the pre-dough stand for about 10 minutes so that tiny bubbles form. Add the lukewarm milk to the bowl together with the fat and salt. Mix everything briefly and then knead the dough with the hooks for about 8-10 minutes. If you use unsalted butter or margarine, you can add a bit more salt. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the yeast dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
After that, shape the dough into normal-sized pretzels, pretzel sticks, or pretzel rolls, or alternatively into small minis, as desired. The quantity makes about 20 pretzel minis or 12 regular-sized pretzels. For pretzels, first form a really, very thin roll (roughly baking sheet length) and thick in the middle, getting thinner at the ends. Place on the work surface, grasp ends, fold over each other and press down slightly on the sides of the "belly" of pretzels.
Now it's time for placing the pretzels spaced apart on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Cover again and let the pretzels rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 440°F/220°C. Now, put the water in a large shallow saucepan, bring to a boil, add the baking soda and remove from the heat.
Drop your pretzel pastries one at a time into the water for about 15 seconds and return to the baking sheet. In the end, sprinkle the pastries with salt and/or cut them, if desired. Bake for approx. 20 minutes; little lye pastries only need approx. 15 minutes. You're done!
Top Tip
Homemade pretzels and lye pastries recipe with or without caustic soda? If you want to make your own pretzels, you first have to decide: Do you take "real" caustic soda, which you can possibly only get at the pharmacy and with which you have to be careful because it is corrosive? Or do you make the pretzels without sodium bicarbonate but with household soda?
I always stick to the "safe" alternative, even though it doesn't make the pretzel pastry quite true to style, keeps it lighter in color and doesn't give it a unique baking soda flavor.
Recipe Card
Pretzels and Lye Pastries
Ingredients
For the dough
- ½ cube fresh yeast, when overnighting half is enough
- 150 milliliters (10 tablespoons) water, lukewarm
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 500 grams (4 cups) all-purpose flour, preferably type 550, but normal white flour will also work
- 100 milliliters (7 tablespoons) milk, lukewarm
- 30 grams (2 tablespoons) butter, soft; or margarine
- ½ teaspoon salt
For dipping
- 100 grams (⅘ cup) baking soda, e.g. Kaiser baking soda
- 1 liter (4 ⅕ cups) water
Instructions
- First, crumble the yeast into the lukewarm water for the pre-dough and mix with the sugar until the yeast is dissolved. Put the flour into a mixing bowl and press a large hollow with a spoon.
- Pour the yeast water into the hollow and stir with a bit of flour from the edge with the spoon. Let the pre-dough stand for about 10 minutes so that tiny bubbles form.
- Add the lukewarm milk to the bowl together with the fat and salt. Mix everything briefly and then knead the dough with the dough hooks for about 8-10 minutes. If you use unsalted butter or margarine, you can add a bit more salt. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the yeast dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Shape the dough into normal-sized pretzels, pretzel sticks, or pretzel rolls, or alternatively into small minis, as desired. The quantity makes about 20 pretzel minis or 12 regular pretzels. For pretzels, first form a really, very thin roll (roughly baking sheet length) and thick in the middle, getting thinner at the ends. Place on the work surface, grasp ends, fold over each other and press down slightly on the sides of the "belly" of pretzels.
- Place pretzels spaced apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover again and let rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 440°F/220°C.
- Put the water in a large shallow saucepan, bring to a boil and add the baking soda. Remove from the heat. Drop pretzel pastries one at a time into the water for about 15 seconds and return to the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the pastries with salt and/or cut them, if desired. Bake for approx. 20 minutes; little lye pastries only need approx. 15 minutes.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
Because the shaping and baking of homemade pretzels and lye pastries is time-consuming, I usually make a relatively large batch and then freeze some. This way we always have "freshly baked" rolls and pretzels (entirely without industrial dough). Why don't you give it a try!? By the way, how about some more recipes for your next baking session? For example, this delicious sourdough bread without yeast, the Italian ciabatta or the braided bread? In my bread category, you will find more delicious recipes that are also sure to succeed!
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About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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