Laugenbrezeln (German Lye Pretzels)

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated September/October 2022

Making pretzels the way German bakers do combines science and arts and crafts with a frisson of (manageable) risk. The process is fun; the payoff is spectacular.

SERVES Makes 6 pretzels

TIME 2¾ hours, plus 3 hours 10 minutes rising, resting, and chilling

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For pretzels that were sturdy and chewy, we started with bread flour, which contains more gluten-forming proteins than all-purpose flour, and we added just enough water to make a malleable dough that would stick to itself when knotted. Roll...

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