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Brezel

pretzel · German-style pretzel

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This German-style knot pretzel uses a firm yeast dough, a chilled shape, a one-minute baking-soda bath and a deep bake. The method follows Jeffrey Hamelman's home adaptation for King Arthur Baking.

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Golden German-style pretzel knots with coarse salt and a soft crumb.

A German-style home pretzel

Jeffrey Hamelman describes this recipe as an adaptation of his German bakery apprenticeship. The King Arthur version replaces his original lye bath with baking soda for home baking. That identifies the method as German-style without claiming that the recipe is a regional standard or that all Brezel are made the same way.

This formula makes ten firm wheat-dough knots. It differs from the separately catalogued sourdough-discard pretzels, which use starter with commercial yeast, a sweet wash and a lower-temperature bake without an alkaline bath.

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Develop and shape the dough

The dough is a lean wheat mixture of bread flour, water, salt and instant yeast, enriched with a small amount of soft butter. Diastatic malt powder is optional. Two covered 45-minute rises have a fold between them; after dividing, a 20-minute rest relaxes the ten portions before rolling them into long ropes.

The shaped knots are covered and chilled before the bath. When the kitchen is particularly warm, the source sends them directly to the refrigerator; otherwise it gives them about 30 minutes at room temperature first, followed by roughly an hour of chilling. The source gives no proof temperature.

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Use the baking-soda bath and bake

Bring 6 cups water and 2 tablespoons baking soda to a boil in a wide pot. Work in groups of three or four, cook each group for one minute without turning, then lift the pretzels back to their trays. Slash each base horizontally, add salt if wanted, and bake at 450°F for 14–16 minutes until well browned.

The boiling bath and hot oven need steady handling. Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to move the cold dough into and out of the pot, leave space to work, and keep hands and face clear of splashes and steam. This home method uses baking soda; the separate lye bath requires its own recipe and handling instructions.

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Food handling and storage

Flour is raw before baking. Do not taste the unbaked dough; bake the pretzels as directed and wash hands, bowls, tools and counters after handling flour and dough. Wrap leftover pretzels and keep them at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze them for longer storage.

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Regional shapes and a protected Bavarian name

The EU's Bavarian specification distinguishes regional lye pretzels by more than the knot. It describes Bavarian pretzels with thicker, higher arms and no deliberate cut across the thick middle, while the Swabian form has lower arms and a cut belly. It also places Bavarian pretzels beside Weisswurst and Leberkäse in light meals.

The Bayerische Breze name and its listed spelling variants were registered as a protected geographical indication in 2014. That registration does not cover every German-style pretzel. This recipe remains King Arthur's baking-soda adaptation, including its own slash and bath instructions; it is not presented as meeting the Bavarian specification. The registration date is not an origin date.

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History

Jeffrey Hamelman says this home recipe draws on his apprenticeship at a German bakery. King Arthur Baking substitutes a baking-soda bath for the lye bath in his original method. This is a German-style home adaptation, not a documented regional standard or origin claim.

Ingredients

Yield 10 pretzels · Scaling: source batch only

Bread flour
614 g
Source also gives 5 cups plus 2 tablespoons.
WaterFor the dough; source gives 1½ cups less ½ tablespoon.
333 g
Table saltFor the dough; source also gives 2 teaspoons.
12 g
Instant yeast
6.2 mL1¼ tsp as recorded
ButterSoft.
28 g
2 tablespoons.
Diastatic malt powder (optional)
1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
Water for bath
1.42 L6 cup as recorded
1361 g.
Baking sodaFor the water bath.
30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
36 g.
Coarse salt (optional)Sprinkle on top after the bath.
Amount not stated
Optional; source names coarse sea salt, kosher salt or pretzel salt.

Method

Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour dough

Uncooked flour may carry germs; tasting the unbaked dough can cause illness.

Hazard source
Boiling baking-soda bath and hot oven

The method requires a boiling liquid bath and a 450°F oven; splashing bath water or touching hot equipment can cause burns.

Hazard source

Do not taste unbaked dough. Bake it following the recipe and wash hands, bowls, utensils and counters after handling flour and dough.

Control source

Use a stable wide pot and a skimmer or slotted spoon to lower and lift the chilled pretzels; keep hands and face clear of the boiling bath and use heat protection when handling the pot and trays.

Control source

Contains wheat and butter. The optional diastatic malt powder and coarse topping salt are not required.

This is the baking-soda bath method. The separate food-grade-lye method is not part of this recipe.

  1. Combine the bread flour, dough water, table salt, instant yeast, soft butter and optional diastatic malt powder. Mix and knead until the dough is supple and elastic. If using a stand mixer, mix on low for 3 minutes to incorporate, then on medium for about 5 minutes, until the dough is fairly well developed.
  2. Cover the dough and let it rise for 45 minutes. Fold it in the bowl by lifting one side of the dough over itself, turning the bowl a quarter turn, and repeating on all four sides. Cover again and rise for another 45 minutes.
  3. Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 10 pieces of about 100 g each. Shape each into a rough log, cover and rest for about 20 minutes. Roll each piece into an 18–22-inch rope and twist it into a pretzel. Place the knots on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets.
  4. Cover the shaped pretzels. If the kitchen is particularly warm, put the sheets into the refrigerator immediately. Otherwise, let them rise for about 30 minutes before chilling. Chill for about 60 minutes so the shapes are firm before dipping.
  5. While they chill, heat the oven to 450°F (232°C). In a wide pot, bring 6 cups (1361 g) water and 2 tablespoons (36 g) baking soda to a boil. This recipe uses the stated baking-soda bath; it is separate from the author's original food-grade-lye method.
  6. Lower 3 or 4 chilled pretzels at a time into the boiling bath and cook for 1 minute without turning. Lift them out with a skimmer or slotted spoon and return them to the baking sheets. Slash each pretzel horizontally across its base with a sharp knife or lame. Add coarse salt if desired.
  7. Bake for 14–16 minutes, until well browned. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store leftovers well wrapped for up to 3 days at room temperature, or freeze for longer storage.

Conditions

Yield10 pretzels
Active time45 min
Fermentation1.5 h
Temperature232°C

Places

Germany

Documented use · Country evidence

The recipe is identified as German-style and its author says it comes from his apprenticeship at a German bakery. No German locality or single regional specification is named.

See Germanyon the mapLocation source 1 →

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Sources