German Soft Pretzels Recipes

GERMAN PRETZELS (LAUGENBREZELN)

Steps:

• Add the flour to a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and sugar and give everything a good stir.
• Sprinkle the instant yeast on top, then give it another stir.
• Add the butter. Then slowly pour in the warm milk and water a little bit at a time while kneading the dough with the spiral dough hooks of your electric mixer. Alternatively, you can use your hands - you just might have to knead a bit longer.
• Keep kneading until you have an elastic-feeling dough that forms a ball and doesn't stick to the side of the bowl anymore. If your dough is too dry, add a little bit more water. On the other hand, if it is too sticky, add a little bit more flour.
• Form a nice ball with your hands and cover the bowl with the dough inside with a dishtowel or a lid. Place it in a warm spot without draft for an hour to allow the dough to rise.
• Once the hour is over and the dough has noticeably increased in size, sprinkle a little bit of flour onto your countertop. Knead the dough briefly with your hands, then cut or rip it into eight equal pieces.
• Using your hands, roll out these pieces into at least 26 inch long rolls. Make sure that the two ends are thinner than the middle to give the pretzels their distinct shape. If it is difficult to roll the dough/make it longer, lightly wet your hands with water - a little bit (but not too much!) of moisture can really help.
• Once you have rolled the dough pieces into long "sausages" with tapered ends, give them their unique pretzel shape. Just remember to follow "loop, loop, twist, press". If you need help, see the photo above for reference.
• Place the pretzels on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and let them rest for another 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, preheat your oven to 390 degrees Fahrenheit and bring approximately 4 cups of water to a boil in a large, flat pot.
• Once the 15 minutes are up and the water is boiling, add the baking soda, give it a stir with a spoon and remove the pot from heat.
• With a flipper or straining spoon, lower each pretzel into the baking soda mixture and allow for a 30-second bath. Make sure the whole pretzel is covered in liquid. If it isn't you, can flip the pretzel over after 15 seconds or baste the top of the pretzel with water in the pot. With a straining spoon, carefully remove the pretzel and allow excess water to drip off.
• Place the pretzel back on the parchment paper and sprinkle it with coarse salt, if desired. Some people like lots of salt, others like just a little bit - so this is really up to personal preference. Repeat these steps until all pretzels had their bath and are sprinkled with salt.
• Bake the pretzels in the middle rack of your oven for approximately 20 minutes until they are nicely brown in color. If your pretzels don't fit onto one baking sheet (and they probably won't), we'd recommend baking the pretzels in two rounds so that they get the heat they need (having two baking sheets in the oven can block the heat if you are using top and bottom heat).
• Remove the pretzels from the oven and let them sit for around 5-10 minutes. They can be enjoyed warm or cold - and taste delicious with a little bit of butter.

BAVARIAN-STYLE SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl (or bowl of a mixer), stir together syrup, lard or butter, yeast, 2 cups warm water and half the flour. Add kosher salt and remaining flour and stir just until mixture comes together in a shaggy mass.
• Turn out onto counter (or attach dough hook to mixer) and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and supple. Cut into 12 pieces and let rest 5 minutes.
• Roll out each piece into a rope about 22 inches long. (For traditional shape, the ends should be thin and the center fat.) Lift both ends, twist them around each other once, then bring ends back and press them on either side of fat "belly," at about 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock. Then gently spread out "shoulders" of pretzel. Transfer shaped pretzels to an ungreased baking sheet. (Alternatively, form each piece into a round or oval to make laugenbrötchen, rolls.)
• Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a deep bowl, wearing rubber or latex gloves, make a solution of 1/2 cup lye and 10 cups water (or 1 part lye to 20 parts water); pour lye carefully into water to avoid splashing. Dip each pretzel in solution, turning it over for 10 to 15 seconds, and place back on baking sheet.
• Sprinkle pretzels with salt. Bake about 15 minutes or until deep brown. Remove to a rack and serve warm.