It’s well known that bars give free salty snacks to make you drink more alcohol. One of my favourite drink snacks is the pretzel, shaped to represent the crossed arms of children in prayer. I like all pretzels, thin and crispy or fat and soft.
I remember as a child visiting a German beer garden in Munich, impressed by the sheer quantity of empty ‘steins’, the tall ceramic beer tankards crowded on tables. Some of the gardens are so large, it is hard to make a meeting point with a friend. Part of the appeal of the Munich beer garden or hall, is their egalitarian atmosphere: you will have rich and poor, all ages, all drinking next to each other. Any decent beer garden worth their salt, will have giant pretzels hanging from hooks, ready to be consumed with a few pints of lager.
Pretzel recipe using lye
Recreate the beer garden vibe by making these pretzels. I might even dust off my dirndl costume.
Makes around 6 big ones
Basic recipe:
7g dried yeast (double it for fresh)
1 tbsp sugar or malt extract syrup
410g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
230g warm not hot water
For boiling:
1 litre water
2 tbsps baking soda (more authentically use food grade lye, using the appropriate safety procedures, available from souschef.co.uk ). This gives a fabulously shiny brown crust to the outside….
See the rest of the recipe on metro.co.uk
If using the lye water from Sous Chef, what is the dilution ratio for the solution please?
10 drops lye to one litre of cold water. Be careful.
nice post