Pretzels


Pretzels
Pretzels are bread sticks looped into a knot, probably with origins in southern Germany. The tops are sprinkled with poppy seeds or grains of coarse salt. Here is a fairly straightforward recipe that is simple to prepare.
143 K 4.8/5 (24 reviews)
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Last modified on: October 24th 2017
For 12 Pretzels, you will need:

Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 25 min.
Resting: 3 hours 30 min.
Cooking: 30 min.
All in all: 5 hours 25 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
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Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 5 min.
Pretzels
Put in a food-processor bowl: 100 ml Milk, 500 g flour, 100 g butter, 20 g yeast, 9 g fine (or table) salt and, if possible, 50 g Soured dough.

Stage 2 - 10 min.
Pretzels
Knead for 10 minutes on slow speed.

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.

Stage 3 - 2 hours
Pretzels
Gather the dough into one large ball and transfer this to another bowl, cover with a sheet of plastic.

Leave to rest for 2 hours, it's pointage (starting).

Stage 4 - 5 min.
Pretzels
After this time, cut and weigh the dough into 100 g portions.

Stage 5 - 8 min.
Roll these into balls. You can see the gesture in this video.

Stage 6 - 30 min.
Pretzels
Cover the balls of dough with a sheet of plastic and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Stage 7 - 10 min.
After this time, roll out a ball of dough into a long "sausage" about 50 cm (25 inches) long, then wind it into the traditional pretzel shape. You can see how in the video at the side.

Make all the pretzels like this.

Stage 8 - 1 hour 30 min.
Pretzels
Arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet, cover with a sheet of plastic and leave to rest for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Stage 9 - 10 min.
Pretzels
After this time, preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F).

Bring a pan with 1 litre of water to the boil and, when boiling, add the 50 g of bicarbonate of soda (be careful, as this reacts and may well make the pan boil over, so add it a little at a time).

Stage 10
Pretzels
Turn off the heat under the pan and plunge a pretzel into the water containing the bicarbonate of soda. It will sink, then rise back up to the surface...

Stage 11 - 10 min.
Pretzels
...take it out with a skimmer and place it on the baking sheet.

Do this with all the pretzels.

This bath of bicarbonate of soda in water gives a sharp flavour to the pretzels.

Stage 12 - 3 min.
Pretzels
Scatter poppy seeds or coarse salt crystals over the top of each pretzel.

Stage 13 - 20 min.
Pretzels
Put in the oven immediately. It is important that the pretzels are still wet when they go into the oven, so that they will turn a lovely golden brown.

If you have to wait and your pretzels dry out, wet them again with a brush dipped in the pan of water and bicarbonate of soda.

Stage 14
Pretzels
Bake until they are just starting to brown and are still soft, about 20 minutes.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Remarks
To give that famous piquancy, professionals use caustic soda (well-diluted, of course), rather than baking soda.
And to drink?
To set the right mood, a good beer.
Keeping: A day or two in an airtight tin.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe70 RDI=30 %400 RDI=40 %120 RDI=20 %2,940 RDI=150 %12,300 RDI: 150 %
Per 100 g8 RDI=3 %50 RDI=5 %10 RDI=2 %350 RDI=20 %1,480 RDI: 20 %
Per piece5 RDI=2 %30 RDI=3 %9 RDI=1 %240 RDI=10 %1,030 RDI: 10 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Milk, Gluten, leaven
How much will it cost?
  • For 12 Pretzels : 4.85 €
  • Per Pretzels : 0.45 €

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
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