When I made my pretzels years ago, I didnt want to buy lye for them, so I read up on the baking soda method. If you BAKE the dry baking soda first, it becomes more caustic like lye, and works better. Just make sure you let it cool FULLY and do not add it to the water while boiling, add it cold or it will explode in a massive dust cloud.
It's funny you write this now, because I just watched 'Gourmet Makes' where Claire did this. I hadn't heard of it before. I should test how it works :)
..ramen noodles. "Sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate happen to be the salts that are most prominently used in ramen, but others are used in other noodles" tease for www.seriouseats.com/2019/09/how-to-make-low-hydration-ramen-noodles.html These look so good!
Foodgeek Hey man, firstly thanks for being a scientifically reliable baker. I am going to try this but want to use baked baking powder, did you try it?any idea of amount of baked baking soda needed for this recipe?
Agreed! There is always more room for butter. Love you informative videos. You are one of very few that I don't have on mute when watching. You are a natural in front of the camera and I appreciate how concise and well-organized you are when speaking. Clearly you are well-studied and prepared. Thank you for the fantastic channel content!
I enjoyed following your recipe and method. Not having access to the lye solution I used baking soda but in a different way. Rather than immerse in liquid (which also allowed skipping the freezer step), I sprayed/misted the pretzels with water near the end of the final proof, sprinkled baking soda powder through a wire mesh strainer directly onto them, and sprayed/misted again, all before adding the flaky salt. I wish I could post a photo - - the result looks much like your lye finished product.
Hi Sune! I am usually quiet on responding to vlogs but I have to let you know you are the most informative and enjoyable to watch and learn in regards to sourdough! I’m learning so much from you, please keep them coming! Thanks again!
Chemist here. Great recipe. If I may offer an advice: To make the lye dissolve faster, add the water to the lye and not the other way around. Also start with just part of water. The dissolution creates heat which helps dissolve the lye even more. You can use a plastic spoon apart from wood to turn the solution.
Hi Sune, if I wanted to bake these pretzels the next morning, could I store the shaped and proofed pretzels in the freezer or fridge overnight? What would you suggest?
Brilliant, love your videos. And I love pretzels! Hats off to you that you use the real deal - lye. By the way, you can keep the ready made lye in a plastic container and use it 3-4 times more for pretzels. It will keep a couple of months easily. But the container must be very sturdy plastic - not glass or metall, as lye will eat through those.
A good alternative to caustic soda, which can be difficult to obtain and is expensive, is washing soda. It is cheap and easily available, it is also much safer to handle than caustic soda, but still imparts a nice brown and glazed appearance. It sits at about 10 on the ph scale, compared to about 13 for caustic.
I heard some people glaze them with a water-sugar mix, instead of the lye water mix. Not sure how well it works, but I think it's worth a try. No chemical reaction to change the dough, but it would still give them a glossy look, apparently, though I don't know what the proportion of water to sugar is.
To be fair, when I use baking soda, I use boiling water, so the dough is slightly boiled and washed in baking soda before putting it in the over, and the result is exactly the same as the lye.
Great video as always. I have to say I have not even though of freezing those...and had to deal with boiling soda water baths way back when with my old old recipe. P I A they were but kids loved watching. I like idea of dip in lye solution and avoid the boiling pot...and like idea it is a traditional way.
Thank you ❤️ When I make bagels those are dipped in boiling water, but actually a bit of lye should also be in the water, if you want to be traditional, anyway 😁
@@Foodgeek I know I read about that but way back in the 70''s when I made them a lot...I was using farm journal type recipes from the US and learned from the German and Polish bakers/ranchers. I learned from these women and they had to make do with what they could find in Texas ranch country. Food safe lye wasn't something easy to get in our rural area...so baking soda or malt was the substitute.
Love your recipes, and the way you present yourself and your passion 😊 I have a question for you. As a Vegan, I don't use butter in the pretzels, but have been using a vegan margarine, which to be honest produces a nice end product in spite of the work involved in getting the margarine integrated into the dough, but was wondering if in your opinion there is a better alternative maybe an oli? Would love your opinion on this please
Those pretzels...my they look amazingly yummy! Caustic soda is not something I can easily find here but can give it a try with the baking soda though. Thank you for your recipe!
Can I make the dough the day before I plan to bake it? If yes, do I follow all the steps then fridge the dough just before the step I portion the dough? Next day I take it out, bring it to room temperature then cut 100g pieces?
Love your shoutout to Josh. 😃 These look so amazing! I have a high school bake sale Tues. that I was going to make doughnuts for. Now I’m going to have to make a decision, because these look really tempting. Maybe I should check your channel for doughnut recipes!
It was funny, as I was reading my voice over script, it said "that doesn't look so good", and so I just went, "but do you know what looks good?" 😂 I kept it in ;) You could make both? I have no sourdough donuts yet, but they are on my list :)
Foodgeek I did scroll through your recipes, and your brioche buns looked like a good bet for a doughnut, actually. But maybe I should stick with my original plan to assure a decent outcome!
@@Foodgeek Actually I followed your link and was happy to see small amts of food safe lye was available. I have plenty of lye for soap...but of course it doesn't say food safe. Got to love Amazon...cause I searched for food safe lye before checking your link and they had LARGE bottle and I was like NAHHH... SOOO reading the info appears you can clean your drains, make soap AND make bagels and pretzels with the food safe version and as Alton Brown says...don't have a unitasker. LOL! Bargain if you can use it for all those handy things...AND not poison people.
How long can I keep the pretzels in the refrigerator after they have risen for 2 hours after shaping? Could I keep them overnight and then finish them the next morning? I was also wondering is it possible to freeze them after they have been shaped and risen for 2 hours?
It depends on how you fed it and what temperature you're keeping it at. If you feed 1:1:1 and keep it pretty warm (30C/86F) it will probably take around 3 hours.
Hey Sune! How much protein does your bread flour have? I'm not achieving the same consistency and as much oven spring when sticking to your bread recipes and I'm suspecting my flour to be the weak point since I'm struggling to find flour with more than 10-11g.
Mine has 12.5g of protein, but all flour is different. I've been trying out many different ones before I found the best supermarket brand, and now I am using one from a local mill in Denmark that's totally awesome :)
Greetings, Foodgeek! Any thoughts about making a chewier soft pretzel using a tangzhong? Possible experiment? Love your vids- I always learn something! Cheers and stay safe
I love your videos so much! Thank you for all you do! Hey, quick question though: I notice on your close ups at the end that there are a number of small blisters on the pretzel. This happens to me all the time as well (I'm currently using a yeast-based recipe) and yet I see other internet pictures of perfectly smooth pretzel arms. I'm not sure where the blisters come from, is it the salt? Thanks for any insight, oh wisest of foodies!
I think I saw someone else ask about this, but how do you keep the finished pretzels from sticking to the parchment? I tried a half portion of this yesterday and they were inextricably stuck to the paper; I had to carefully cut them off. They were quite delicious though; thanks for the work on the recipe! Maybe if I used a baking stone they wouldn't stick? I want to be careful about using cooking spray since it turns sticky in the oven.
maybe change your parchment to other brand? Or take a closer look on thet one you have, sometimes they have two sides, matte and shiny. You want to use shiny part.
Horses for courses, but in our kitchen we scald the pretzels briefly in a boiling solution of baking soda (not room temp), which produces a texture and flavor that we (also) enjoy. Looking forward to trying with a sourdough starter for the rise!
Hi Sune, I really enjoy your channel and the experiments. I was wondering if you are planning to do a sourdough pretzel bun video? It'd be awesome if you do.
Got it. Just read another review and they identified food safe lye! Thanks everybody! Your comments are very helpful! So replace lye with baking soda in the process?
@@Foodgeek It was delicious. I made a cheese sauce and we ate with it. I made 9 pieces and ate all for breakfast. I will make it again in this weekend. 💞
I need to understand the lye thing. if you have oils like the butter on the surface, the lye should render those as soap and glycerin. I guess the baking might change the soap into the tasty surface of a pretzel skin. Maybe it's super complex due to acidity of reaction.
Hey Sune, those look amazing! My sourdough is only able to double in volume, but not triple. Would that be enough for me to prepare pretzels? Tusind tak!
ryproducciones No, that would have been a great idea. I usually do it for all my videos, but forgot for this one. I did put a bow on most of them and gave them to my family at Christmas 😁🥨🥨
Weck jars, they are the standard home canning jars in many countries, like Mason or Ball jars are in North America. I keep saying I'm going to order some. I love the look of them.
Hi Sune, Many thanks for your videos, I learn (and bake!) a lot with your help. My next challenge are bretzels, which look awesome. I was thinking about adding to the dough either small bits of grilled bacon, or spices (thyme, oregano, ...) Any chance you’ve tried that? Thanks, Gerard
I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to pretzels, but I do have a tattoo that says "Mmmmh... Bacon!" so I am intrigued. Let me know how they turn out
I’m so disappointed with this... I am getting used to your test videos where you show the rise and then do smell and taste compares but this one goes to B-roll and ends? How would we guess the baking soda ones compared? I make mine with the baking soda version all the time for safety factor and want to know if risking my kids in the kitchen with Lye has any merit.
You and josh are my favorite food UA-cam channels. Loved that little shoutout. Made me chuckle!
Very true
When I made my pretzels years ago, I didnt want to buy lye for them, so I read up on the baking soda method. If you BAKE the dry baking soda first, it becomes more caustic like lye, and works better. Just make sure you let it cool FULLY and do not add it to the water while boiling, add it cold or it will explode in a massive dust cloud.
It's funny you write this now, because I just watched 'Gourmet Makes' where Claire did this. I hadn't heard of it before. I should test how it works :)
..ramen noodles. "Sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate happen to be the salts that are most prominently used in ramen, but others are used in other noodles" tease for www.seriouseats.com/2019/09/how-to-make-low-hydration-ramen-noodles.html
These look so good!
If you do that do you still need to use gloves?
Sounds like the voice of experience talking.
Foodgeek Hey man, firstly thanks for being a scientifically reliable baker. I am going to try this but want to use baked baking powder, did you try it?any idea of amount of baked baking soda needed for this recipe?
Agreed! There is always more room for butter. Love you informative videos. You are one of very few that I don't have on mute when watching. You are a natural in front of the camera and I appreciate how concise and well-organized you are when speaking. Clearly you are well-studied and prepared. Thank you for the fantastic channel content!
I enjoyed following your recipe and method. Not having access to the lye solution I used baking soda but in a different way. Rather than immerse in liquid (which also allowed skipping the freezer step), I sprayed/misted the pretzels with water near the end of the final proof, sprinkled baking soda powder through a wire mesh strainer directly onto them, and sprayed/misted again, all before adding the flaky salt. I wish I could post a photo - - the result looks much like your lye finished product.
Richard Klein I have boiled the pretzel dough in baking soda water before baking. Works out great without the danger.
Hi Sune! I am usually quiet on responding to vlogs but I have to let you know you are the most informative and enjoyable to watch and learn in regards to sourdough! I’m learning so much from you, please keep them coming! Thanks again!
Thank you
Chemist here. Great recipe. If I may offer an advice: To make the lye dissolve faster, add the water to the lye and not the other way around. Also start with just part of water. The dissolution creates heat which helps dissolve the lye even more. You can use a plastic spoon apart from wood to turn the solution.
Thanks for the tips 😊 I'll do that next batch 😁
Can you do a sourdough comparison between baking straight from the fridge vs letting the loaf come up to room temp thank you
Hi Sune, if I wanted to bake these pretzels the next morning, could I store the shaped and proofed pretzels in the freezer or fridge overnight? What would you suggest?
Nice nod to Josh
Thanks ❤️
Brilliant, love your videos. And I love pretzels! Hats off to you that you use the real deal - lye.
By the way, you can keep the ready made lye in a plastic container and use it 3-4 times more for pretzels. It will keep a couple of months easily. But the container must be very sturdy plastic - not glass or metall, as lye will eat through those.
There is no problem storing a lye (sodium hydroxide) solution in glass as that is how we store these solutions in the chemistry lab.
It's not very expensive, so I'll rather just toss it than dealing with trying to keep it :)
made em, and they were perfect! Salty and chewy....thanks for the guidance!
Sune, I just have to say I love the jazz guitar in the music bed.
Your recipe and instructions are awesome! I can't believe how well mine turned out!
Awesome 😁 Thank you ❤️
Thoughts on diastolic powder or malted barley syrup? Sometimes they show up in pretzel recipes, other times not, and everywhere in between 🤷🏻♂️
It's just used for taste. I think it could be delicious 🤤🤤
I'm making the sourdough pretzels right now. Very exciting. Can't wait to taste it. Thank you also for the recommendation on how to dispose the lye.
A good alternative to caustic soda, which can be difficult to obtain and is expensive, is washing soda. It is cheap and easily available, it is also much safer to handle than caustic soda, but still imparts a nice brown and glazed appearance. It sits at about 10 on the ph scale, compared to about 13 for caustic.
Was there a difference in taste between the lye and baking soda pretzels?
I heard some people glaze them with a water-sugar mix, instead of the lye water mix. Not sure how well it works, but I think it's worth a try. No chemical reaction to change the dough, but it would still give them a glossy look, apparently, though I don't know what the proportion of water to sugar is.
Not dipping in a basic solution will not make them taste 'pretzelly' 😊
To be fair, when I use baking soda, I use boiling water, so the dough is slightly boiled and washed in baking soda before putting it in the over, and the result is exactly the same as the lye.
These pretzels are making me thirsty!
styx85 Cosmo Kramer heh heh good one!
Did the glass cut you?
You beat me to this! Take my upvote :)
Great video as always. I have to say I have not even though of freezing those...and had to deal with boiling soda water baths way back when with my old old recipe. P I A they were but kids loved watching. I like idea of dip in lye solution and avoid the boiling pot...and like idea it is a traditional way.
Thank you ❤️ When I make bagels those are dipped in boiling water, but actually a bit of lye should also be in the water, if you want to be traditional, anyway 😁
@@Foodgeek I know I read about that but way back in the 70''s when I made them a lot...I was using farm journal type recipes from the US and learned from the German and Polish bakers/ranchers. I learned from these women and they had to make do with what they could find in Texas ranch country. Food safe lye wasn't something easy to get in our rural area...so baking soda or malt was the substitute.
Hi Sune, I live in Denmark and was wondering where did you buy food grade lye for this recipe? Thanks!
I have bought it from the German Amazon 😊
Love your recipes, and the way you present yourself and your passion 😊 I have a question for you. As a Vegan, I don't use butter in the pretzels, but have been using a vegan margarine, which to be honest produces a nice end product in spite of the work involved in getting the margarine integrated into the dough, but was wondering if in your opinion there is a better alternative maybe an oli? Would love your opinion on this please
Those pretzels...my they look amazingly yummy! Caustic soda is not something I can easily find here but can give it a try with the baking soda though. Thank you for your recipe!
Love pretzels ❤️ I'm sure your will turn out great 😊
That was amazing! I'm gonna try it. By the way, how about a video about making pretzels using starter discard?
Another great video! Kneading in the butter was a workout!! 💪🏻😂
Mine are in the oven now. So far looking good;2 minutes to turning the tray & reducing oven temp.
Can I make the dough the day before I plan to bake it? If yes, do I follow all the steps then fridge the dough just before the step I portion the dough? Next day I take it out, bring it to room temperature then cut 100g pieces?
Love your shoutout to Josh. 😃 These look so amazing! I have a high school bake sale Tues. that I was going to make doughnuts for. Now I’m going to have to make a decision, because these look really tempting. Maybe I should check your channel for doughnut recipes!
It was funny, as I was reading my voice over script, it said "that doesn't look so good", and so I just went, "but do you know what looks good?" 😂 I kept it in ;)
You could make both?
I have no sourdough donuts yet, but they are on my list :)
Foodgeek I did scroll through your recipes, and your brioche buns looked like a good bet for a doughnut, actually. But maybe I should stick with my original plan to assure a decent outcome!
as caustic soda is also used for unclogging sinks. why not just get rid of it through there. you get amazing pretzels and a clean pipe!
Good point. "Side effects may include: a clean drain" ;)
@@Foodgeek Actually I followed your link and was happy to see small amts of food safe lye was available. I have plenty of lye for soap...but of course it doesn't say food safe. Got to love Amazon...cause I searched for food safe lye before checking your link and they had LARGE bottle and I was like NAHHH...
SOOO reading the info appears you can clean your drains, make soap AND make bagels and pretzels with the food safe version and as Alton Brown says...don't have a unitasker. LOL! Bargain if you can use it for all those handy things...AND not poison people.
Tanya Briggs Exactamundo 😁
May I ask, what is the title song of your video intros? I love jazz but don’t recognize the music.
Good man ☺ thanks for suggesting a substitute for caustic soda ... 😆
Amazing . Thank you so much
if i were to double or triple the recipe should i prepare a new lye bath per batch or can i just use the same bath for all?
You can just use the same bath 🥨
How long can I keep the pretzels in the refrigerator after they have risen for 2 hours after shaping? Could I keep them overnight and then finish them the next morning? I was also wondering is it possible to freeze them after they have been shaped and risen for 2 hours?
I am making your recipe today. Approximately how long will it take for the levain to be ready to add to the dough?
It depends on how you fed it and what temperature you're keeping it at. If you feed 1:1:1 and keep it pretty warm (30C/86F) it will probably take around 3 hours.
After I let the pretzels rise for two hours can I put them in the refrigerator until the next day?
Yes, that will be fine :)
Hey Sune!
How much protein does your bread flour have? I'm not achieving the same consistency and as much oven spring when sticking to your bread recipes and I'm suspecting my flour to be the weak point since I'm struggling to find flour with more than 10-11g.
Mine has 12.5g of protein, but all flour is different. I've been trying out many different ones before I found the best supermarket brand, and now I am using one from a local mill in Denmark that's totally awesome :)
I ran out of bread flour. Can I use all purpose flour? It has 4 g of protein in 30 g of flour.
Sure. Just make sure the hydration is right for the flour 😊
Greetings, Foodgeek!
Any thoughts about making a chewier soft pretzel using a tangzhong? Possible experiment? Love your vids- I always learn something! Cheers and stay safe
I love your videos so much! Thank you for all you do! Hey, quick question though: I notice on your close ups at the end that there are a number of small blisters on the pretzel. This happens to me all the time as well (I'm currently using a yeast-based recipe) and yet I see other internet pictures of perfectly smooth pretzel arms. I'm not sure where the blisters come from, is it the salt? Thanks for any insight, oh wisest of foodies!
How long do you know levain is ready?
You can make carbonate of soda by heating bicarbonate of soda. It's a more powerful alkaline.
I think I saw someone else ask about this, but how do you keep the finished pretzels from sticking to the parchment? I tried a half portion of this yesterday and they were inextricably stuck to the paper; I had to carefully cut them off. They were quite delicious though; thanks for the work on the recipe! Maybe if I used a baking stone they wouldn't stick? I want to be careful about using cooking spray since it turns sticky in the oven.
maybe change your parchment to other brand? Or take a closer look on thet one you have, sometimes they have two sides, matte and shiny. You want to use shiny part.
Great recipe!! Should I use fed or unfed starter?
Fed 😊
@@Foodgeek thanks.. could you maybe help me with translation? I would like to buy a lamè but I can't find an exact translation in German.
It's called Bäckermesser :) (baker's knife)
amzn.to/3acZ18t
Horses for courses, but in our kitchen we scald the pretzels briefly in a boiling solution of baking soda (not room temp), which produces a texture and flavor that we (also) enjoy. Looking forward to trying with a sourdough starter for the rise!
I'm sure they are good 🤤
Indeed this is the better way to use baking soda, because the heat will convert some of it to lye: NaHCO3 -> NaOH+ CO2
Hi Sune, I really enjoy your channel and the experiments. I was wondering if you are planning to do a sourdough pretzel bun video? It'd be awesome if you do.
Is there a difference in food grade or soap grade lye?
Got it. Just read another review and they identified food safe lye! Thanks everybody! Your comments are very helpful!
So replace lye with baking soda in the process?
If only we could get food grade lye in the UK! Though honestly I imagine soap grade lye is probably fine.
Thank you! I will try it next week. 💞
Let me know how it goes ❤️
@@Foodgeek It was delicious. I made a cheese sauce and we ate with it. I made 9 pieces and ate all for breakfast. I will make it again in this weekend. 💞
@@klaudiahorvath3910 Sounds delicious 🤤🤤 What kind of cheese sauce is it?
@@Foodgeek It's Gauda cheese sauce. 😊
Can I use all purpose flour?
You said to roll the dough out to about 1 m long and you said approximately 3 feet and a couple inches. Is this actually correct?
1 meter long, about 3 feet 😊
I need to understand the lye thing. if you have oils like the butter on the surface, the lye should render those as soap and glycerin. I guess the baking might change the soap into the tasty surface of a pretzel skin. Maybe it's super complex due to acidity of reaction.
It’s not solid rendered fat, so that probably makes a difference.
Good job!
Thank you ❤️
Great Video :)
Thank you
Why use the caustic soda except for the colour?
It changes both the texture and the taste of the crust. It won't be a pretzel, but more like a pretzel shaped salted bun if you don't use it :)
Hey Sune, those look amazing! My sourdough is only able to double in volume, but not triple. Would that be enough for me to prepare pretzels? Tusind tak!
Yes, as they don't need a lot of rise it'll probably be fine :)
@@Foodgeek Thanks a lot for the quick response! Do you have a picture of how crumb turned out? Missed that in the video - constructive criticism :)
ryproducciones No, that would have been a great idea. I usually do it for all my videos, but forgot for this one. I did put a bow on most of them and gave them to my family at Christmas 😁🥨🥨
What glass jar & lid was that for the starter ?
I’d like to get some.
Here: fdgk.net/buy-weck-jars :)
Weck jars, they are the standard home canning jars in many countries, like Mason or Ball jars are in North America. I keep saying I'm going to order some. I love the look of them.
Nice!
You could put all in at once
Hi Sune,
Many thanks for your videos, I learn (and bake!) a lot with your help.
My next challenge are bretzels, which look awesome.
I was thinking about adding to the dough either small bits of grilled bacon, or spices (thyme, oregano, ...)
Any chance you’ve tried that?
Thanks,
Gerard
I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to pretzels, but I do have a tattoo that says "Mmmmh... Bacon!" so I am intrigued. Let me know how they turn out
Foodgeek Will definitely do! ;-)
Thank you ! I’ll make it tomorrow for school week!
Let me know how it goes :)
How did those Germans figure out that putting lye...something cuastic...would improve pretzels...🙂
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hmmm....escuse me..1 meter long pretzel...I dont think so...Perhaps...33 cm?
Yes, 1 meter 😊 About 3 feet 😆
@@Foodgeek Sune, I meant the pre pretzel dough string length at 9.05...But anyways, it is all good... I like your accent!!!!
Yikes...safety gear 😳. Ok....
taste??? lol
I’m so disappointed with this... I am getting used to your test videos where you show the rise and then do smell and taste compares but this one goes to B-roll and ends? How would we guess the baking soda ones compared? I make mine with the baking soda version all the time for safety factor and want to know if risking my kids in the kitchen with Lye has any merit.