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)
5 hours 25 min.
Easy
12 Pretzels
8 IngredientsLast modified on: October 24th 2017
For 12 Pretzels, you will need:
- 1
100 ml Milk - 2
500 g flour - 3
100 g butter - 4
20 g yeast - 5
9 g fine (or table) salt - 6
50 g Soured dough (optional) - 7
50 g poppy seeds - 8
50 g Bicarbonate of (baking) soda - Total weight: 830 grams
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 25 min.
Resting: 3 hours 30 min.
Cooking: 30 min.
All in all: 5 hours 25 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 5 min.
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.
Knead for 10 minutes on slow speed.
Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.
Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.
Stage 3 - 2 hours
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).
Leave to rest for 2 hours, it's pointage (starting).
Stage 4 - 5 min.
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.
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.
Make all the pretzels like this.
Stage 8 - 1 hour 30 min.
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.
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).
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
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.
...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.
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.
Scatter poppy seeds or coarse salt crystals over the top of each pretzel.
Stage 13 - 20 min.
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.
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
Bake until they are just starting to brown and are still soft, about 20 minutes.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
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 recipe | 70 RDI=30 % | 400 RDI=40 % | 120 RDI=20 % | 2,940 RDI=150 % | 12,300 RDI: 150 % |
| Per 100 g | 8 RDI=3 % | 50 RDI=5 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 350 RDI=20 % | 1,480 RDI: 20 % |
| Per piece | 5 RDI=2 % | 30 RDI=3 % | 9 RDI=1 % | 240 RDI=10 % | 1,030 RDI: 10 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 12 Pretzels : 4.85 €
- Per Pretzels : 0.45 €
Change currency: 
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)
Flour
Like these other recipes: Sausage mushroom and cheese crumble, Chocolate eclairs, Fillets of sole meunière, Chocolate cake, Nonettes, ... See them all 201
Butter
Like these other recipes: Sorrel soup, Lemon tart, Leek and broccoli "à la flamande", Little apple and verbena tarts, Kouign-amann, ... See them all 472
Milk
Like these other recipes: Crackers, Crème de foie gras, Potato Waffles with Smoked Salmon, Doughnuts, Household cake (Gâteau de ménage), ... See them all 60
Bicarbonate of (baking) soda
Like these other recipes: Liège waffles, How to prepare white beans, ... See them all 2
Other recipes you may also like
Artichoke hearts forestier
This recipe is not very complicated, but does involve some work: an artichoke heart with a layer of mushroom duxelle, a layer of fried bacon, topped with a poached egg and cream sauce. Everything can be prepared in advance (the day before for example), but the final assembly should be done just...May 10th 2023273 K5 1 hour 50 min.
Pizza dough
Pizza dough is a lind of bread dough with olive oil, which make it softer. This is the same dough that I use for pizzas and flammenkuches, this is no doubt incorrect, but it's very good nevertheless. At home we used to make pizza dough quite thick, and flammenkuche as thin as possible.September 22th 2024512 K4.6 1 hour 60 min.
Epiphany galette
Here is the recipe for the very classic but delicious "galette des rois" (Epiphany galette) in puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée) with almond cream or frangipane . You will also see some professional tips to easily handle the dough, and obtain a nice and regular galette.January 1st 2025297 K 24.5 3 hours 8 min.
Flambéd bananas
The trick of this recipe is to end up with bananas caramelised on the outside, still firm on the inside, coated with a tasty syrup which is not 95% butter.February 21th 2011332 K 14 40 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.