Bavarian Style Soft Pretzels Recipes

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.

PAPA DREXLER'S BAVARIAN PRETZELS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1 1/3 cup water. Let this mixture stand until bubble begin to form, about 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and gradually stir in the remaining flour until dough can be picked up and kneaded on the counter. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, adding more flour if needed.
• Divide the dough into 6 pieces and let them rest for a few minutes. Roll out one piece at a time into a rope about 15 inches long. Loop and twist into that cool pretzel shape. Set on a baking sheet while you roll out the remaining portions.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Bring the remaining 3 cups of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Remove from the heat. Dip pretzels into the water bath for about 45 seconds, flipping over about halfway through. Place the soaked pretzels on a greased baking sheet. Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

BAVARIAN-STYLE SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large mixing bowl with a whisk), combine the yeast and 1-1/2 cups lukewarm (90°F to 95°F) water and let stand until dissolved, about 5 minutes. (The mixture should smell yeasty. If it doesn't, start over with a fresh batch of active dry yeast.) Add the flour, sugar, oil, and salt. Mix on low speed (or with a wooden spoon) until the ingredients are hydrated and form a coarse ball of dough, 2 to 3 minutes. Add more water as needed, 1 tsp. at a time, if all of the flour is not incorporated into the dough.
• Increase the speed to medium low and mix (or transfer the dough to a work surface misted with oil and knead by hand) until the dough becomes smooth, supple, and elastic, about 3 minutes. The dough should be soft but only slightly tacky; if it seems sticky or very tacky, sprinkle in more flour, as needed. If using a stand mixer, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface and knead by hand for a few more seconds. Form the dough into a ball, transfer to a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until it's about 1-1/2 times its original size, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
• Lightly mist a work surface with oil and transfer the dough to it. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (about 6 oz. each). Form each piece into a smooth, round ball, lightly mist with oil, and cover with plastic wrap; let rest on the work surface at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
• Line a large baking sheet with lightly oiled parchment or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
• Lightly mist a work surface and, using your palms and fingers, roll each piece of dough on the work surface into a rope that's about 30 inches long and 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. If the dough resists or shrinks back, let it rest for a few minutes while you work on other pieces; short rests will let the gluten relax enough to allow for the full rollout.
• Working with 1 dough rope at a time, shape it into a large U that's 5 to 7 inches across with the curve closest to you. Take the 2 ends of the rope in your fingers and cross one over the other so the ends overhang the cross by about 3 inches. Twist the ends of the rope, shortening the overhang to about 2 inches. Next, pull the twisted end section toward you and fold it down over the bottom curve of the U so the ends are a couple of inches apart and overhang the bottom by about 1/4 inch.
• Carefully transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly and reshaping as needed. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until hard, at least 2 hours and up to 3 weeks.
• If using lye, put on protective gloves. Pour 2 cups cool water into a small stainless-steel bowl just wide enough to hold one pretzel.
• Add the lye and stir with a stainless-steel whisk or spoon until completely dissolved.
• If using baking soda, bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the baking soda, and stir until completely dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.
• Using stainless-steel tongs or a stainless-steel slotted spoon, dip one pretzel at a time in the lye (or baking soda) bath and soak for 5 seconds. If the liquid doesn't completely cover the pretzel, turn it over and submerge the other side for 5 seconds. Remove the pretzel from the liquid, allowing the excess to drip off, and return it to the baking sheet. To discard the lye bath, slowly pour it down the sink drain and flush with cool running water for a few seconds. If you wore non-disposable gloves, wash them in cool soapy water and rinse well. If you used a baking soda bath, brush the tops and sides of the pretzels with some of the beaten egg.
• Let the pretzels thaw and rise at room temperature until they are soft and puffy, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Brush baking-soda-dipped pretzels once more with egg.
• Lightly sprinkle the pretzels with the salt. Set the baking sheet of pretzels on another baking sheet (double-pan them) to prevent the bottoms of the pretzels from browning too quickly. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until rich, deep mahogany-brown for lye-dipped pretzels or dark golden-brown for baking-soda-dipped pretzels, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer the pretzels to a rack and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

BAVARIAN PRETZELS

Steps:

• Mix brown sugar and warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over top and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Add melted butter and beer to the yeast mixture and whisk until combined. Add bread flour and salt. Mix and then knead with your hands or an electric mixer for a few minutes until a dough ball forms.
• Grease a bowl with 1 teaspoon butter. Place dough in the bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 8 hours, or overnight.
• Punch down the dough and knead until a smooth ball of dough is formed, about 1 minute. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise until dough has almost doubled in size, 2 to 3 more hours.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place baking soda in an oven-safe dish.
• Place baking soda in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Let cool, and then whisk into a shallow bowl of 2 1/2 cups hot water until dissolved. Mixture can be strained to remove any dissolved pieces. Reserve until needed.
• Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each one into a ball; let sit for 5 minutes.
• To form a pretzel, roll a dough ball into a sausage shape, and then press into a small rectangle with your fingers. Fold the outside third of the dough into the center, and press flat with your fingertips, and then repeat with the edge closest to you.
• Roll the dough into a rope 15 to 18 inches long, with the center (belly) of the rope being twice as thick as the ends. Cross the ends once or twice and fold them back over the pretzel so the ends are just past the belly. Repeat to form remaining pretzels.
• Put on some thin, food-safe gloves and transfer a pretzel to the baking soda bath; soak for 20 to 30 seconds, gently splashing liquid over the top of the pretzel to coat. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet that's been greased with cooking spray. Sprinkle the still-damp pretzel with large-grain sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels and let rise for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
• Use a razor or sharp knife to make a slash across the "belly" of each pretzel. Smaller cuts can also be made on other sides of the pretzel if desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven until well browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

GERMAN STYLE SOFT PRETZEL

Steps:

• To make in food processor or large mixer: combine flour, gluten, brown sugar, salt, yeast. Add water until dough ball is formed. (This will take much longer in a mixer than a food processor.) Remove from bowl and knead by hand for 2-5 minutes until dough ball is smooth.
• If you have an extra day, place dough in covered bowl into refrigerator for 8-24 hours; bring to room temperature before rolling out (approximately 25 minutes).
• If making the same day, allow dough to sit on counter top for 5-10 minutes before proceeding.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil water for dipping pretzels.
• Divide dough into six pieces and roll each piece into long thin pieces approximately 24" long. Take each piece and shape into upside down U. Lift up the ends and form a twist in the middle section of the piece. Bring the ends to the top of the pretzel and press into the dough. Proceed with shaping each piece.
• Add baking soda and sugar to boiling water. With large slotted spoon, dip each pretzel into the water solution for 5 seconds. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with coarse salt. Place baking sheet in oven and reduce heat to 425 deg F and bake for 10 minutes. Then turn the sheet and bake for another 10-15 minutes until all pretzels are nicely browned.