True Pretzel (Bretzel)

I found this a while back and feel like i should share it with the world because these are amazing. I have made these for barbecues where even the pickiest of kids LOVED these. It may take a couple tries to get it right but once you do... rawr.

Until recently, my father owned and operated a German bakery in Chicago which

did a very good business supplying restaurants and delicatessens with these

pretzels. Well, he just retired, which means I can post the recipe for the

enjoyment of thousands. Sorry, but all of the measures are in terms of

weights, not volumes like we usually see on the net.

Dough: (makes 5 dozen)

1 oz salt

1 oz sugar

1 oz shortening

2 oz yeast

4 lbs flour

1 quart milk (or use water w/ 4 oz milk powder)

Lye Dip:

6 oz caustic soda

1 gallon water

You will also need pretzel salt.

Oven: 400 degrees F

Directions:

Prepare the dough by first disolving the yeast in the milk/water. Mix

in the other ingredients, gradually adding the flour until you obtain

a good stiff dough. Divide the dough into increments and form them

into pretzels as follows. Given a stick of dough, about 1/2 in in

diameter and 8 inches long, roll the stick starting from the middle and

working outwards, so that the stick ends up tapered towards the ends.

Keep rolling, starting over in the middle whenever necessary, until

the piece is about two feet long. Tie a pretzel knot, squeezing the

ends very tightly. Place on a lightly floured towel in a warm place so

that the dough can rise. We used dedicated boards at Schmid's bakery

because we made so many pretzels each day. Keep making the pretzels.

When finished, allow the pretzels to rise until they are about the size

you desire, usually less than one-half hour. Transfer the pretzels to

a cold place in your work area, possibly a refrigerator, although

opening a window and using a fan should work well. After about ten

minutes of exposure, you will notice that the pretzels have a

noticeable 'skin'. They are now ready for dipping and baking.

Put on latex gloves - caustic soda is dangerous stuff - and eye goggles

as well. Dip the pretzels in the caustic soda (see below) and place

them on a hot baking pan. Sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake in the 400

degree oven until the pretzels are golden brown - around 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Caustic Soda mix:

Put one gallon of cold water in a large plastic bucket. slowly add six

ounces of caustic soda, stirring constantly. You will want to wear

plastic gloves and glasses whenever handling this stuff. It stores

well (actually it stores forever).

Notes:

1. Don't be scared of dipping the pretzels in the caustic soda.

Yes, it's poisonous, but the baking eliminates the trouble, and it

gives the pretzels the great taste and texture of authentic German pretzels.

2. Some 'soft' pretzel manufacturers use baking soda dips instead of

the caustic soda. While we Schmids thought such practices as

nonsense, we appreciated other bakers doing this, since our pretzel

business was never threatened by them.

3. My father has retired, and I am now in possession of a lot of his

recipes. Unfortunately, most of them start with the statement "use 50

pounds of flour ...." Should I bother posting these? Can people

figure out how to reduce the recipes? My dad owned an authentic German

bakery for over forty years and he really knew his stuff.

4. The hidden trick to this recipe is having a really hot oven. The

lye dip should sizzle as the pretzels are put on the baking surface.

We had a large oven that wouldn't cool off much as we were putting the

pretzels in, kind of like a pizza oven you see at restaurants, only

bigger.