Pretzels, almost like from the Bakery

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Who would have thought that? I tried to bake Pretzels years ago, and I failed miserably. Baking Pretzels, or in German “Laugenbrezel” or in Bavaria “Brezn”, seemed so complicated to me at the time, that I preferred to leave it to the professionals

German Pretzel, Brezel

So I’m a little proud. I can’t stop looking at the pictures of my Pretzels. Aren’t they beautiful? And they taste almost like from the bakery. The thought of making pretzels alone can make you sweat of fear. No matter how wildly I could swirl strands of dough around in the air, I never was able to create perfect pretzels.

I’ve repressed and forgotten all of this, but then again I found myself in the kitchen, kneading and soaking the unbaked pretzels in baking soda, trembling…. and tata – the most beautiful of all pretzels came out of the oven.

Should I do a Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) or Baking Soda soak?

If you don’t want to mess with Food grade Lye or Sodium Hydroxide which requires safety goggles and gloves, you can soak the Pretzels in a prepared Baking Soda soak as below. It will have a very similar results, just follow the procedure below:

From the New York Times about soaking the pretzels in Baking Soda “Just spread a layer of baking soda on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake it at 250 to 300 degrees for an hour. You’ll lose about a third of the soda’s weight in water and carbon dioxide, but you gain a stronger alkali. In order to get that distinctive flavor and deep brown color, pretzel makers briefly dunk the shaped pieces of raw dough in a lye solution before baking them. Baked soda does a much better job of approximating true lye-dipped pretzels. Just dissolve 2/3 cup (about 100 grams) in 2 cups of water, immerse the formed raw pretzels in this solution for three to four minutes, rinse off the excess dipping solution in a large bowl of plain water, and bake”

Shaping then Pretzels:
Shaping Pretzels

  • Preparing the dough
  • Risen dough
  • dough, batter
  • Pretzel dough
  • boiling water, lye
  • Pretzel
  • German Pretzel, Brezel
  • Pretzel with Brie spread, Obatzda
  • Pretzel sticks
  • Pretzel stick, Laugenstangel
  • Pretzel, Laugenbrezel

The homemade Pretzels still fresh and warm plays in a completely different league. I will certainly reap a lot of admiration with my homemade pretzels!

The Maundy Thursday (Gründonnerstag) Pretzel or Fasting Pretzel

I remember it was a custom to bake pretzels on Maundy Thursday (Gründonnerstag). The customers came in droves to the bakery to buy the traditional pretzels freshly baked. What does a pretzel have to do with fasting?

From the old custom I find the following thoughts on this interesting: What we know today as a pretzel was originally a fasting pretzel. The looped arms of the pretzel are supposed to hold on to good things and banish bad things. They are a symbol of a prayer position. Perhaps the Maundy Thursday pretzel is reminiscent of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane or of his bonds?

The word pretzel comes from the Latin term for “arm” and was used for the bread with the looped arms. For a long time, the pretzel was mainly eaten during Holy Week. The special shape of the pretzel wants to remind us of the cross of Christ and his passion in the middle of everyday life.

Memories of a bakery owner about 80 years ago: In the week before Easter there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the bakery. The farmers from the village came and brought their own flour and milk in bowls, bakeries added the yeast and making the dough for the pretzels and baking them.

Pretzels were something special for everyone. You couldn’t afford that in everyday life. The smell of freshly baked goods was in the air. It meant additional work and it was natural that every free hand in the bakery should help. It was a special time so close to Easter!

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