An uncomplicated recipe for traditional German pastries. With simple ingredients and no special equipment.
Recently I told my wife how during my school years my class and I went to Germany. I lived there for a month with a German family, where fresh pretzels were served for breakfast.
Pretzel Is a pretzel made from yeast dough, which is pre-cooked in an alkaline solution before baking. Became popular thanks to the Oktoberfest beer festival, where it was prepared as an inexpensive beer snack.
I still remember how I cut them in half lengthways and spread them with chocolate paste. The food is incredible. While talking, I decided that it was necessary to cook it.
Step by step recipe on how to cook pretzels at home
- Flour 250 g
- Water 150 g (cold)
- Butter 20 g (room temperature)
- Sugar 6 g
- Salt 3 g
- Yeast 6 g
First, stir flour, sugar and yeast until combined.
I pour in cold water, add salt and mix until smooth. I add butter, stir and start kneading the dough.
I kneaded half the dough with my hands, and it took me about 12 minutes. This is quite long and painful.
Therefore, it is better to use a stationary mixer with a hook attachment.Thanks to this mixer, the dough kneading was reduced from 12 minutes to 5. And most importantly, then you do not need to clear the table from the stuck flour. I have a Gorenje mixer, but now there are plenty of options for every wallet. Below I leave a selection from Yandex. Market, there you can find a convenient model for you. And I go back to the recipe.
Cover the finished dough with a film, towel or bowl and leave to rest for 15 minutes. I cover the dough with the same bowl in which I kneaded. This way you don't have to get the towel dirty.
When the dough is rested, I divide it into 5 equal parts, 85 grams each and roll into thick sausages. Cover with a bowl and leave to rest again for 20 minutes.
After this time, the sausages will “swell” a little. I flatten the sausages with my palm and fold the dough in half, flatten and fold again.
I roll the dough into sausages about 70 cm long. They should be thick in the center and thin at the edges. Now I put the sausages in pretzels, put them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes (or in the refrigerator for 1 hour). To see the step-by-step process of folding the pretzels, scroll to the side of the gallery.
When the pretzels are frozen, I start to prepare an alkaline solution. I mix soda with water and bring to a boil, lower the temperature and leave it on a light boil.
- Water 1 l
- Soda 50 g
I dip each pretzel in turn in the solution for 5 seconds and put it on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Sprinkle on top with salt, sesame seeds or whatever you like best.
I send it to bake for 12-15 minutes at a temperature of 220 ° C. Let's show what I did.
Have you tried pretzels?
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