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My daughter had to make a recipe for German class, so we chose pretzels. As you know I made Bretzel Rolls a couple weeks ago, so I was prepared for this. ;) The Bretzel rolls were amazing (I need to make some more!) so I set out to find a genuine German pretzel recipe.
German Pretzels
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
2 pkgs active dry yeast
3 tbsp butter
Coarse salt for sprinkling
Soda Bath
2 quarts water
Add the softened butter to the mixing bowl and knead everything to a smooth dough. I used the dough hook on my Kitchenaid for about 6 minutes on speed #2, I did have to add about a tablespoon of additional water as it was not quite gathering all the dry ingredients. Remove the dough hook and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into twelve equal parts, then roll each piece on the table (don’t flour the surface, you shouldn’t need it) to about 20 inches (mine weren’t that long, probably only about 14 inches, thus my small and fat pretzels LOL), tapered toward the ends. Don’t make it smaller than 50cm, as it’s impossible to get a good shape with a short, thick rope of dough (yeah I should have listened LOL!). The dough should not get too warm as you roll it out, or it might tear. Astrid didn’t have this problem and neither did I.
Place the pretzels without covering them in the fridge for about an hour. This helps build a skin that will absorb the dipping solution better and make a beautiful shiny crust.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Note: an authentic German recipe calls for a lye solution, but baking soda is a perfectly acceptable and widely used substitute.
Using a slotted spoon, gently drop each pretzel into the bath for 10 seconds, then turn over for another 10. Astrid called for a total of 10 seconds only. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
You’re supposed to score the dough once like for a baguette with a razor blade or sharp knife. I forgot to do that but they were still ok, no major cracking or anything.
Bake the pretzels for about 15 to 20 minutes (mine took 20 minutes for a nice dark crust), depending on how dark you like them.
You should also check out my post about Bretzel Rolls which are Pretzel Sandwich Rolls, they are awesome!
Wowo looks so beautiful.
Your pretzels came out beautifully Amanda! Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog. Nothing makes me happier than to see a recipe I post being tested with success by someone else.
They look wonderful. Can I have one please!!!
I have never made pretzels but have always wanted to try. Thanks for the recipe.
I haven’t made pretzels in awhile. Thanks for the reminder. They are a great snack!! Yours look delicious!
That’s a cool assignment for your daughter to have to do! The pretzels look great. We love German food!
goodness these sound awesome :)
Happy Cook – Thank you! I was hoping for an even darker crust, but didn’t want them to burn. Will try again soon :)
Astrid – You are quite welcome, I love all the goodies on your blog! Thanks for the great recipe :)
Debbie – It’s funny, my daughter took them to school, put them in the room with the other food items, and they were gone next time she came in LOL
Cheri – Would love to see them if you do, you’re a great cook!
Maria – Time to fire up the oven and baking soda bath again :)
Tami – I thought it was pretty cool. So many recipes to choose from but we needed something that would keep from the night before. So making something like Schnitzel was out :-P
thecleanveggie – They were! Thanks for the comment ;)
of all the things you could’ve possibly made for a german class, i wouldn’t have expected this…but i love it! gimme a little mustard and i’m set to go. :)
I love homemade pretzels with a heaping pile of mustard!
Hi Amanda,
I made the pretzels and they turned out pretty good over all. I did have trouble with the dough, though. I was confused about the water amount. Was there supposed to be additional water from the yeast? It said 1 cup luke warm water but then it said use warm water for the yeast. I'm thinking there was supposed to be a separate measurement for that. I reworked the dough a few times adding more and more water. Probably about a 1/4 cup. Anyway, I finally managed to get the dough feeling right. Because the dough was so tight it was hard to roll it out long enough to make the nice big pretzel shapes so mine look a lot like yours.
Just a word of warning about the baking soda bath. I don't recommend adding the baking soda to boiling water. I've never done this before so I just followed your directions. And after dumping in the baking soda in to the boiling water it immediately boiled up like volcanic eruption and overflowed and dumped about a liter of soda water all over my stove and floor in a matter of seconds. BIG MESS and a pain to mop up. So, might I suggest adding it to warm water and then bring it to the boil.
After all that I also brushed the tops with egg whites which gave it a nice shiny crust and also helped the salt to stick. Anyway, I'm going to try this again and adjust the water amount. Hopefully they'll turn out the way they should. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Michele! I'll adjust the recipe so that it's less confusing. There's not a separate measurement for the water, the lukewarm water in the ingredient list, and the warm water in the instructions are one in the same. Sorry for the confusion. As for the dough be overly tight, did you use the scoop and sweep method for measuring the flour? Just wondering if you may have had too much. Another thing I have discovered with yeast recipes is the climate and barametric pressure indeed play a role in the end result. I live in the midwest, so it tends to be more humid here than say, southern California. Just thinking about some possible reasons for your dough results :)
As for the baking soda, I'm so sorry that happened to you! I will add a note about that in the instructions as well. I did have an "eruption" so to speak, but I didn't have it boil over. I'm thinking your pot may have been filled higher than mine? I filled mine about 3/4 full.
At any rate, so glad you enjoyed them and thanks so much for this helpful feedback!
Thanks, for making the adjustments, Amanda! That's much more clear. Time for round two!
Amanda,
I visited Germany for the first time in September and fell in love with their pretzels. I tried you recipe and it is GREAT! I am going to make them for Thanksgiving. I want to surprise my mother-in-law who is from Germany.
Thanks
DeVon
That's wonderful DeVon! How fun you got to visit Germany, I am envious :)
So…were these soft pretzels or hard pretzels? They look delicious!
Hi Debbie, they are soft! :)
I am making these for my son’s school project.. lets hope all goes well.. they look fantastic.
Hope it goes well Katy and that you enjoy them!
Hi Amanda! I made these for my son’s cultural feast at school yesterday and they were a huge hit! I’m not really sure how to store them though. I stored them in sealed Tupperware containers, and they got “moist” and kind of tough to eat. How do you store them? I apologize if this has already been answered, I read most comments, but not all.
Thanks for your help, and the wonderful recipe!!!!
-Julie
Well they actually didn’t hang around long enough to be stored, but I can certainly see how a closed container would cause moisture. I think a safer bet would be to store them in paper lunch or grocery bags, just like when you buy bagels from a bagel shop :) Yum, now i want a fresh bagel!
Thanks so much! This was my first time making anything like this, so I really had no clue. :-)
[...] made soft pretzels before. A few years ago my daughter and I made Homemade German Pretzels for her German class assignment, and these Bretzel Rolls I made around the same time. They are [...]