Easiest Way to Make Perfect Authentic German Pretzels

Authentic German Pretzels. Besides tasty pretzels you can make pretzel wrapped hot dogs, roll out the dough and stuff it with shaved chocolate and coconut or top But where do I find an "authentic German" bread machine!? Oktoberfest and Pretzel (German: Brezel) belong together like beer and wurst and here is how to bake an authentic German Pretzel in a few easy steps. Authentic German pretzels are a little smaller and not as fat as the kind you get at the county fair or local food stand.

Unlike in the US, Germans eat soft pretzels with butter—not mustard or cheese sauce for dipping. This authentic German Pretzel Recipe makes enough for a crowd as an appetizer. Homemade pretzels are so easy to make from scratch and taste like from your favorite German bakery. You can cook Authentic German Pretzels using 10 ingredients and 16 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Authentic German Pretzels

1. You need 500 grams of ◆Bread (strong) flour (type 550 in Germany).
2. It's 1 tsp of ◆Salt.
3. Prepare 1 tsp of ◆Sugar.
4. Prepare 20 grams of Butter.
5. It's 1 of sachet Dry yeast.
6. You need 250 ml of Lukewarm water.
7. You need 1 of Coarse salt.
8. It's 1 of here i used 3% For the Laugenwasser - alkaline water to poach the dough (2-4%).
9. It's 1 liter of Lukewarm water.
10. Prepare 30 grams of NaOH (food-grade lye).

This develops a skin on the pretzels which gives that special chewy texture. Once done drop the shaped dough into the boiling. This recipe is easy to follow. How to make German Pretzels, the most popular baked items from Germany.

Authentic German Pretzels step by step

1. Put the ◆ dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well..
2. Put the yeast in lukewarm water and dissolve. Add the yeast water and butter to the bowl and knead well. (or use a bread machine)..
3. After kneading for 10 minutes, the dough will come together like this. This dough is on the stiff side..
4. Divide the dough into 6 portions, and round them off..
5. How to make pretzels: Roll out about 40 cm long, with thin ends and a fat middle..
6. Twist the ends together once, and make a heart shape. If the dough won't stick to itself, use a little water to help it stick..
7. I tried making other shapes too. Butter a baking tray. If you use parchment paper, the alkaline nature of the lye in the Laugenwasser may rip it..
8. Since you'll be using NaOH (lye), put on protective gloves and protective goggles..
9. Put the lye in a pan, and pour in lukewarm water. If you add boiling water the lye may spit, so don't do that!.
10. Boil the formed dough from step 7 in the alkaline water. When the dough turns yellow take it out with tongs, and put in the buttered baking tray. Boil the dough for 15 to 30 seconds..
11. This is the dough after it's been poached. Can you tell that the dough has turned a bit yellow? Let it rest like this for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C..
12. Use a knife to slash the tops of the rolls, sprinkle on some coarse salt and put in the oven. (Be sure to put on gloves.) Bake for 15 to 20 minutes and they're done..
13. This is a Bretzel (pretzel). The name of the bread changes depending on the shape/.
14. This is a Laugenstange..
15. This is a Broetchen (a little roll)..
16. To make an alkaline Laugenwasser using bicarbonate of soda: Put 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda in 750 ml of water. I boiled the dough for 30 seconds per side. The color is different from the ones boiled in lye water, but they are just as delicious..

German Pretzels are popular all over the world. In German it is called Bretzel , Brezl , or Breze , in Bavaria/Austria Brezn. And they come out looking exactly like German pretzels, but the crust is always softer than in Munich. In Munich the inside crumb is soft and supple, but the brown crust is deeply brown with a crisp crackle. German pretzels come in both sweet and savory versions, and their texture may range from soft to hard.