Homemade Soft Pretzels and Beer Cheese
Soft Pretzels (Laugenbrezeln)
Yields 12 large, 24 minis, or 36 bites
These take a little planning but are so satisfying to eat and fun to make. Serve with several types of mustards, or make your own beer cheese dip. Delicious!
2 c warm water (around 100°F)
1 T barley malt syrup (or you can use molasses or brown sugar)
2 T soft butter (or leaf lard)
1 T instant yeast or 4 t active dry yeast
5-6 c all-purpose flour, or use 50% bread flour if you have it
1 T kosher salt
3 T food grade lye (35g), see Note
4 c cold water
Coarse pretzel salt
Place the water and syrup into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook. If using active dry yeast, sprinkle the yeast over the water and let sit 5 minutes until it foams. If using instant yeast, you can skip the blooming step and proceed with recipe.
Add butter and 2 c flour to the bowl and mix on low until combined. Add the salt and 3 more cups of flour and mix. Beat on low speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes or so until dough is firm and stiff but still pliable. If dough is sticky, knead in additional flour.
Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour. Alternatively, you can let dough rise 30 minutes and then refrigerate overnight.
Carefully mix the 3% lye solution, after reading the NOTE below. Place 4 c cold water in a shallow glass pan or bowl. Add the lye and mix gently until dissolved. Do not add lye powder to bowl first and pour water over!
Prepare 2 sheet pans lined with parchment.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Divide dough into 12 pieces for large pretzels (2.5 - 3 oz each) or divide into 1 ounce pieces for mini pretzels. Pretzel bites are about 1⁄2 ounce.
To shape, roll dough balls into ropes 20-22” long for large pretzels, or 10-12” long for mini pretzels. For a traditional shape, let the middle be fatter than the ends of the ropes. I find it easier to roll the ropes on an unfloured work surface. Let the ropes relax for a few minutes while you roll the rest. Beginning with the most rested rope, form it into an upside down U, cross the ends over and twist once, then bring the ends back up to 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock on the belly of the pretzel. Let them rest on the work surface while you shape the rest.
Once pretzels are shaped, carefully submerge in lye solution for 10-20 seconds and remove with a slotted skimmer or spoon to the sheet pan, letting lye solution drain briefly before placing the pretzels on sheet pan. I do about 4 at a time so that I can keep track of them and ensure none sit too long in the lye. Sprinkle with pretzel salt and bake 13-16 minutes for large or around 11 minutes for minis. Let them obtain that dark golden brown color typical of soft pretzels.
NOTE: Lye is a corrosive substance and can cause skin irritation. Wear gloves if you have them and take extreme care not to get lye near your eyes. If this happens, immediately wash with copious amounts of water. Try not to breathe in the lye dust as you mix.
The high pH of food grade lye is what gives pretzels their distinctive taste and color. Lye causes some of the starch and protein to break down and expose simple sugars and amino acids on the surface of the pretzel. These sugars provide the taste and deep browning on pretzels. In the heat of the oven, any remaining lye reacts with carbon dioxide in the air and is converted to sodium carbonate which is safe to eat.
Beer Cheese Dip
Yields about 1 cup
2 T butter
3 T flour
3⁄4 c milk, warmed in microwave
1⁄2 c any light-colored beer, not stout
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1⁄2 t garlic powder
1⁄2 t salt
1⁄8 t cayenne, or more to taste
3 c shredded cheddar cheese
Make a white sauce by melting the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan, then whisking in the flour. Add the milk slowly in 3 additions, whisking until smooth with each addition of milk. The mixture will thicken.
Stir in the beer, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne. Add the cheese and stir mixture as cheese is melting. Taste and season with more salt, cayenne, and/or garlic if necessary.