Bakery-Style Soft Pretzels with a Baked-Soda Bath

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Deep mahogany, blistered soft pretzels with the chewy pull and faintly mineral tang of a real German bakery — no food-grade lye required. Baking your baking soda in the oven for an hour drives off water and carbon dioxide, converting it into stronger sodium carbonate, which gives a dipping bath close to lye strength. The result is a lacquered, crackly skin over a tight, buttery crumb, finished with coarse pretzel salt and eaten warm by hand.

Ingredients

• 480 g bread flour (about 4 cups, spooned and levelled)
• 280 g warm water, about 100°F (1 cup plus 3 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp barley malt syrup (or packed dark brown sugar)
• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft
• neutral oil, for the bowl and hands

• 3/4 cup baking soda (to be oven-baked)
• 9 cups water
• 1 tbsp barley malt syrup, optional, for deeper colour

• 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp coarse pretzel salt or flaky sea salt
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, for brushing after baking

Instructions

1. Bake the soda first (it can be done days ahead): spread 3/4 cup baking soda in a thin layer on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 1 hour, stirring once at the 30-minute mark. It will look slightly duller and feel finer. Cool completely and store in a sealed jar. You should have a scant 2/3 cup; it is more caustic than plain baking soda, so keep it away from skin, eyes and aluminium.
2. Make the dough: in a stand mixer bowl, whisk 280 g warm water (100°F) with 2 tbsp barley malt syrup until dissolved. Add 480 g bread flour, 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast and 2 tsp fine sea salt. Mix with the dough hook on low for 2 minutes until no dry flour remains — the dough will look stiff and shaggy. This is correct; pretzel dough is much drier than pizza dough.
3. Add the 3 tbsp soft butter a tablespoon at a time, then knead on medium-low for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and cleans the bowl. It should feel firm, like a well-inflated basketball, and pull into a thick translucent sheet when stretched. By hand, knead 12 minutes on an unfloured counter.
4. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at warm room temperature (about 75°F) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy and increased by roughly half. It will not double — that's fine.
5. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Turn the dough out and divide into 8 equal pieces, about 100 g each. Roll each into a tight log, cover, and rest 10 minutes so they roll out without fighting you.
6. Roll each piece into a rope 22 to 24 inches long, fat in the middle and tapering to thin ends: press flat, roll up tightly, then roll under lightly oiled palms, working outward. If the rope resists, let it rest 2 minutes and come back to it.
7. Twist: lay the rope in a U with the ends pointing away from you. Cross the ends over each other twice to make a twist, then fold them down and press the tips firmly onto the bottom curve, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Place on the parchment, spacing them well.
8. Chill the shaped pretzels, uncovered, on the sheets in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (up to 2 hours). The dried, firmed surface takes the bath cleanly and holds its shape.
9. Heat the oven to 450°F with racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. In a wide stainless steel or enamel pot (never aluminium), bring 9 cups water to a bare simmer, turn off the heat, then whisk in the baked soda and the optional 1 tbsp malt syrup. It will fizz. Wear rubber gloves and keep the pot away from anything reactive.
10. Working with 2 pretzels at a time, lower them into the hot bath with a slotted spatula and dip for 30 seconds, flipping once at 15 seconds. Lift, let drain for a few seconds, and return to the parchment, re-tucking the ends if they loosen. The surface will look slick and slightly yellow.
11. Brush each pretzel lightly with the egg yolk wash, then, with a sharp paring knife or razor, slash the fat belly of each pretzel about 1/4 inch deep. Sprinkle generously with coarse pretzel salt.
12. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, rotating and swapping the sheets at 8 minutes, until deep glossy mahogany — go darker than feels comfortable; pale pretzels taste flat. Internal temperature should read 200 to 205°F.
13. Brush the hot pretzels with melted butter and cool 5 minutes on a rack. Eat within a few hours, while the skin is still snappy and the inside is warm.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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