Pretzels

Freshly baked Blueberry muffins

Pretzels right out of the oven

Pretzels are of different sizes and they are available all over the world. It is has its history dating back to 1111A.D, it has come a long way and has changed the way we make pretzel today.

The recipe for making pretzel is:

Bread flour 5#

Water 2Quart

Soft butter 7oz

Malt 2oz

Salt 2oz

Yeast 2oz

Pre fermented dough 1#

For the lye

Sodium Hydroxide pellets 10oz

Water 1 quart

• Mix the dough by adding the flour, pre fermented dough, yeast, malt, salt water and soft butter, the dough should be mixed until the flour on the sides of the bowl must come clean.
• Once it is mixed let it rest, covered until relazed for 30 mintues.
• Devide the dough into 5oz pieces.
• One at a time, stretch each piece of dough to 12 inches and make a loop, twist it once and then fold the end into the top loop.
• Place it on greaced perforated sheets and then let it rest in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
• Prepare lye louction, combine the waer and sodium hydrozide pellets, stirring until the pellets are completely dissolved. (Wear protective gloves and googles be careful not to get any of the soultion on your skin).
• Remove the pretzels from the freezer and alow them to stand for 5 to 10 minutes. (If you dip the pretzels right away, the water temperature will drop and the sodium hydroxide will be less likely to stay in the solution).
• Using tongs, dip the pretzels in the lye solution and then place them on the perforated sheets again to drain out excess liquid. Sprinkle immediately with coarse salt.
• Bake the pretzels in the oven at 475*F until it reaches a deep golden brown color, in 12 to 15 minutes, and let cool.

Working with lye

After pretzels are shaped and proofed, they are dipped in a solution of water and sodium hydroxide before baking. This caustic solution, known as lye, gives the surface of the pretzels their characteristic color, shine, and tangy, salty flavor. When the pretzels are baked, the sodium hydroxide is transformed into inert salts. Use caution when working with a lye solution. Wear googles and rubber gloves to prevent contact with the soultion. As the pretzels are dipped, they should be placed directly on perforated sheet tray to drain. Once they are all dipped, they need to directly go into the oven.