German Style Soft Pretzels

German Style Soft Pretzel

So, after many attempts at making a proper German Style Soft Pretzels I found this recipe using a Proofing Box that has come up with the closest thing to a salty tough outer-layer, with a nice soft gooey inside.  I don't beleive the proofing box matters more then controlling the timing, since the temps aren't hard to get in a normal house hold or simply waiting a little longer during the proofing/rise process.

What I found to be the two biggest keys to making a proper pretzel in a home kitchen were; 1. Water bath using baking soda to help with the rise as well as create that yummy crust, and 2. To use Malt in the dough to help during the bath for it to caramelize on the outside the dough creating again that wonderful exterior layer.  

A more traditional method is to use a lye bath instead of the baking soda bath, which I haven't tried due to highly acid nature of lye and the general fear of hurting myself, instead of having a relaxing bake day.  Not interest in spending the afternoon in the hospital instead.  That said, if anyone does try it, I'd be very curious how the result compare.  

Final note, which I been wanting to try, but have not.  I've heard from my friend that used to work in one of those mall pretzel stands that they'd not even put the risen dough in a baking soda bath, they'd simply spray down the pretzels with a baking soda water mixture from a spray bottle before popping them into the oven.  

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

Bread Flour - 429 g

Instant Yeast - 3.2 g (1 packet)

Salt - 1 tsp/6 g

Water 80 °F  - 237 g

Butter - 43 g

Malt Syrup or Molasses - 14 g

Finishing 

Baking Soda - 3 Tbs

Egg - 1

Pretzel Salt - ½ tsp 

Preparation

Get ready. Set up the Proofer with water in the tray and the temperature set to 80 °F / 26 °C. 

Mix the Dough. Add the flour, salt and yeast to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter, malt syrup and lukewarm water. Mix by hand or machine on low speed until the dough comes together.

Develop structure.  Knead until the dough is moderately well developed, about 7 minutes by hand or 6 minutes in a stand mixer on speed 2. Alternatively, give the dough two eight-way folds now and two more during the first half hour of rising.

Let the dough rise. Transfer the dough to the marked rising container and allow it to ferment in the Proofer until tripled. The peak of the dough will just reach 9 cups (a little over 2 liters) in about 90 minutes.

Divide and pre-shape the dough. When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a sparsely floured work surface and de-gas by pressing it into a rectangle. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into eight pieces about 3.1 oz / 90 g each. Throughout dividing, pre-shaping and shaping, work with one piece of dough at a time and keep the rest covered. Press each piece into a little rectangle and then roll it up into a cylinder, starting from a long end. Pinch the seam closed and seal the ends, then allow the cylinders to rest, covered, for 5 minutes.

Shape the pretzels. Lightly dust the two Proofer-sized sheet pans with flour. Starting in the middle and using a fair amount of pressure, roll the cylinders into ropes with your hands, until they reach a length of about 20″ / 50 cm. If you enjoy a pretzel with a chubby lower loop, leave the dough thicker in the middle. Form a U shape, then twist and bring the ends down to create the classic pretzel shape. Press lightly to seal the ends.

Proof the pretzels. Once all the pretzels are on the floured sheet pans, check the water tray in the Proofer to see that it still has water. Add the upper rack hangers to the sides of the Proofer and load the pretzels onto the rack. Proof for 15 minutes. Alternatively, the pretzels can be proofed, covered, on the countertop. In a 68 °F / 20 °C room, they will take about 25-30 minutes. The pretzels should still be a little underproofed when they begin the finishing process.

Set up the finishing station. While the pretzels are proofing, bring one quart or liter of water to a boil in a wide pan (ideally it should be large enough to float four pretzels in one layer). While the water is coming to a boil, set out a slotted spoon and parchment or silicone liners for the sheet pans. Have the ½ tsp sprinkling salt ready. When the water comes to a boil, stir in 3 T /47 g of baking soda to dissolve and keep it at a low simmer.

Preheat the oven. Turn the oven to 400 °F / 205 °C and allow to preheat.

Dip and finish the pretzels. When the pretzels are finished proofing, boil them in two batches, about 10 seconds on each side. Remove them from the pot, drain and set on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake the pretzels. Load the pretzels into the center of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating half way through baking to promote even browning. Remove to racks to cool.