About this Dish
The iconic twisted bread — chewy inside, deeply brown and glossy outside from a lye bath before baking, finished with coarse salt. Bavaria's pretzel culture is the most developed — eaten with white radish and butter for breakfast or with beer at the Oktoberfest. The lye dip creates the unique crust impossible to achieve otherwise.
IngredientsServes 4
🌾Strong white bread flour, 500g
🧂Fine salt, 10g
🍚Sugar, 1 tsp
🫧Dried yeast, 7g (1 sachet)
🧈Unsalted butter, 30g softened
💧Warm water, 300ml
⚗️Food-grade sodium hydroxide (lye), 40g — handle with rubber gloves
💧Cold water, 1 litre (for lye bath)
🧂Coarse pretzel salt or flaked sea salt, for topping
Method
1
Combine the flour, fine salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Add the softened butter and warm water, then mix and knead for 8–10 minutes until you have a smooth, slightly stiff dough. Cover and let it rest at room temperature for 45 minutes until puffed up.2
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about 60cm, thicker in the middle and thinner at the ends. Cross the ends over each other twice, then fold them back up onto the thick middle section to form the classic pretzel shape. Place on a lined baking tray and freeze uncovered for 30 minutes — this firms them up and helps the lye cling evenly.3
Put on rubber gloves and eye protection before making the lye bath. Carefully stir the sodium hydroxide into the cold water in a plastic or stainless steel bowl (never aluminium) — always add lye to water, not the other way around. The solution will heat up; let it cool slightly before using.4
Preheat your oven to 220°C (fan 200°C). One at a time, lower each chilled pretzel into the lye solution for 30 seconds, gently turning it, then lift it out with a slotted spoon and place it back on the lined tray. The dough will look slightly slimy — this is exactly right.5
Sprinkle each pretzel generously with coarse salt, then use a sharp knife or razor blade to make a shallow slash along the thick belly of each pretzel. Bake for 14–16 minutes until they are a deep mahogany brown all over — don't pull them early, the dark colour is essential for flavour.6
Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. The crust will crisp up as they cool and the interior stays wonderfully chewy. Serve Bavarian-style with cold butter and thinly sliced white radish, or alongside a cold beer.7
Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before eating — the crust crisps up as it cools. Serve Bavarian-style with cold butter and sliced white radish, or alongside a cold beer.User Reviews
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