Actually, Lye at the low 3% concentration used for this kind of baked goods is a lot less corrosive than the average bleach used in your washer. I just have to point out that it's not without risk and requires careful handling. The risk with bleach is higher, because bleach emits corrosive gasses and if you happen to mix it with the wrong things, like i.e. Oxyclean or anything acidic, you end up with chlorine gas which is a lot worse than dipping your hand like a pretzel. Of course you can use something less alkaline like baking soda - the result is just not the same. Just to mention: drain opener like Drano uses up to 50% concentration. You probably still use it to open a clogged drain despite the fact that that level of concentration is capable of dissolving hair and will burn your skin in mere seconds. So just be careful, use good common sense and it's safe to use - plus the result is just so tasty :-)
No I don't - it's so much easier to just buy. The lye concentration for soap is about 10 times (30% to 40%) that for pretzels, so if I made soap I'd do that in the garage and I'd definitely be wearing protective gear. You can use simple baking soda for the pretzels. You'd have to bake the baking soda on a baking sheet wrapped in tinfoil for an hour at 250 degrees (it might damage your baking sheet otherwise). You can make more and store it in a air tight container (mason jar). Then when it comes to dunking the pretzels, dissolve 1/2 cup to 1 cup for every cup of boiling hot water and simmer until dissolved. Then dunk the pretzels into the hot baking soda solution for 3 to 5 minutes. The result won't be exactly the same, particularly the color won't be as nice dark brown, but the pretzels will still taste good. You can use a bit of eggwash before baking the pretzels if you want darker color and the shine that the more concentrated alkali from the 3% lye solution gives you.
Thank you for showing us how this is made! Based on this, I don’t think I will mess with lye anytime soon! 😅
Actually, Lye at the low 3% concentration used for this kind of baked goods is a lot less corrosive than the average bleach used in your washer. I just have to point out that it's not without risk and requires careful handling. The risk with bleach is higher, because bleach emits corrosive gasses and if you happen to mix it with the wrong things, like i.e. Oxyclean or anything acidic, you end up with chlorine gas which is a lot worse than dipping your hand like a pretzel.
Of course you can use something less alkaline like baking soda - the result is just not the same.
Just to mention: drain opener like Drano uses up to 50% concentration. You probably still use it to open a clogged drain despite the fact that that level of concentration is capable of dissolving hair and will burn your skin in mere seconds.
So just be careful, use good common sense and it's safe to use - plus the result is just so tasty :-)
That's where I was done too. Thank you for sharing. Do you make soap too❤😉
No I don't - it's so much easier to just buy. The lye concentration for soap is about 10 times (30% to 40%) that for pretzels, so if I made soap I'd do that in the garage and I'd definitely be wearing protective gear.
You can use simple baking soda for the pretzels. You'd have to bake the baking soda on a baking sheet wrapped in tinfoil for an hour at 250 degrees (it might damage your baking sheet otherwise). You can make more and store it in a air tight container (mason jar). Then when it comes to dunking the pretzels, dissolve 1/2 cup to 1 cup for every cup of boiling hot water and simmer until dissolved. Then dunk the pretzels into the hot baking soda solution for 3 to 5 minutes. The result won't be exactly the same, particularly the color won't be as nice dark brown, but the pretzels will still taste good. You can use a bit of eggwash before baking the pretzels if you want darker color and the shine that the more concentrated alkali from the 3% lye solution gives you.
Based on the accent this recipe is legit.
this, weisswurst, süsser senf and a glass of beer... oh boy, how I yearn to visit Bavaria again 😭
Guess the only things missing as recipes are the weisswurst and the beer. I never made either, but then there's always something new to learn.