Sunday 9 October 2011

Laugenbrezel

Proper Laugenbrezel are difficult to find in this country. They are different from other Pretzel, having been dipped in a Lye solution.  Here is the recipe, it makes 15 large Brezel (you may wish to halve the quantities):

600g strong bread flour
12g salt
20g malt or molasses (I prefer molasses)
60g butter
60g yeast
0.25l water

Mix the ingredients and knead the dough well. It must be sufficiently elastic to make a nice fluffy bread.

Cut the dough into 15 even pieces, roll into a 30cm cord which is slightly thicker in the middle and form into Laugenbrezel shapes. Use a drop of water to glue the edges down.
Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
Boil 1l of water with two or three spoons of sodium bicarbonate to make the alkaline lye water.  Dip the bread for 30s into the solution, drip off and sprinkle with rock salt. Place them onto a floured baking tray. Put them into a cold oven, and heat to 250 deg C for 20 minutes. (I prefer a hot oven at 180 deg C however). The Brezel should be golden brown when finished.

The perfect Brezel will have a nice rubbery outside with a soft and fluffy interior.

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