Pretzels

Ingredients

• 1.2 cups water
• 1.5 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar, honey, barley syrup, or molasses
• 1-2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 4.5 cups flour
• 0.25 cup food-grade sodium hydroxide (lye)
• 5 cups water, for the lye bath
• 2 tablespoons crunchy finishing salt

Method

Mix 300ml water, the yeast, sugar or honey, and salt into 450g flour. Let this sit for 15 minutes — this is your autolyse, where the flour hydrates fully and begins to swell, requiring less aggressive kneading later. Add the remaining 180g flour and knead until just sticky; the dough should feel slightly tacky to the touch but hold together. The point here is extensibility over strength — pretzels don't need the windowpane structure of sandwich bread.

Cold-ferment overnight in the fridge, or 2 hours at room temperature. The overnight route develops more flavour through slow yeast-fermentation and gives you flexible timing. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and gently press each flat, then roll into a log. Rest these for 15 minutes under a cloth whilst the oven reaches 230°C — the gluten relaxes, making shaping less likely to tear the dough and cause it to puff chaotically in the oven.

Roll each log into a rope about 60cm long, keeping the centre thicker than the ends. Form an upside-down U, then cross the arms over each other twice and fold both ends back down to the belly, pressing them firmly to seal. Work quickly: a shaped pretzel left to warm up will begin re-rising before it hits the lye bath, and an over-proofed pretzel loses its tight structure. Prepare your lye bath by slowly sprinkling 60g sodium hydroxide into 1.2 litres water in a heat-safe, non-reactive vessel (glass or Pyrex), stirring gently as you go. This is caustic — wear chemical-resistant gloves and keep vinegar nearby to neutralise any splashes on skin.

Submerge each pretzel for exactly 10 seconds, rotating gently to coat. The sodium hydroxide raises the dough's pH to 13–14, which darkens the maillard-reaction dramatically and creates that distinctive chewy crust — the alkaline surface caramelises faster and deeper than yeast-alone would allow. Remove each pretzel with a slotted spoon and drain thoroughly on the sheet. Scatter finishing salt immediately, then score the belly lightly with a knife. Bake 15 minutes until deep mahogany brown; the lye will evaporate harmlessly. Dispose of the cooled lye solution by running water at the sink and pouring it slowly down the drain to dilute it fully.