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Swabian or Bavarian pretzels

Corina Gaffney <corinaesq@sbcglobal.net>
Mon, 29 Aug 2005 11:11:22 -0700 (PDT)
v105.n037.14
Dear Gloria, and all interested in authentic German pretzels, here is 
the article I posted on the list last year (click on the link):

http://www.bread-bakers.com/archives/digests/v104n040.txt

I think I have tweaked my recipe somewhat since the article, in that 
I use a little more butter now, and somewhat less water.  I guess I'm 
making fewer pretzels now than before, because here's what I did last 
time (and the recipe made 16 pretzels - not huge, but about the 
normal size in Germany):

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice (the acid makes the dough rise higher)
4 to 4 1/2 cups bread flour
Coarse or kosher salt for sprinkling
Lye dip

Here is the new website for the very helpful, step-by-step 
instructions, WITH PICTURES, for the making of the pretzels.  The 
gentleman also gives you the instructions for making the lye dip.

http://www.cs.uml.edu/~dm/brezla-2/index.htm

Although in the digest article I gave instructions from a German 
cookbook also, I have not, nor do I recommend, boiling the pretzels 
in the lye dip.  It isn't necessary, the bakery I visited in Germany 
didn't use hot lye, and I think boiling the pretzels would make them 
chewy, not crunchy on the outside, like Gloria wants.  If your 
pretzels aren't crunchy enough outside, use slightly more water and 
less butter, and a higher temperature when you bake them.  Watch them 
carefully, as they go from golden brown to dark brown rather quickly.

Good luck!