It doesn´t get more German than “Laugenbrezeln” or “Pretzels” as they are known as in other parts of the world. Although, it is obviously very wrong to spell these delicious German Laugenbrezeln with a “P” rather than a “B” and anything you can buy (at least here in the UK) is nowhere near as good as what you get in Germany!
I´ve mentioned before that the bread in Germany is a lot better than what you can get in the UK (in my opinion at least) and I really miss going to the bakery on a Sunday morning and buying some fresh “Brötchen” (bread rolls) or bread! That´s why I´m trying to recreate some of my favourite recipes and share them with you here! If you´re interested, you may want to check out my recipes for “Vollkornbrot” (a German wholemeal seeded loaf) or my take on a “Muntermacher” (a seeded bread with carrots).
Don´t miss out these delicious German Pretzels when making a traditional German breakfast! Check out what else you need for a classic German breakfast here.
“Laugenbrezeln” – What does the name mean?
In Germany, you can buy “Laugenbrezeln”, or “Brezeln” for short, absolutely anywhere and you will also see quite a few bread rolls that look similar but have a different shape! Collectively, these types of rolls are known as “Laugengebäck” and you can find “Laugenstangen” (long and stick-shaped), “Laugenknoten” (knotted), “Laugenbrötchen” (round) or “Laugenzöpfe” (plaited). They even do “Laugenecken” or “Laugencroissants” which are a twist on your usual croissant. Most often they have coarse flakes of sea salt sprinkled on top, but sometimes they are also covered in seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, poppy, sesame, or a mix of everything!) or have cheese melted on top!
What you will notice, is that all these bakes have the prefix “Lauge” in common. In German, a “Lauge” is an alkaline solution. And it is this solution that the “Laugengebäck” (literally translating to alkaline baked goods) is blanched in before baking and what gives these baked goods their amazing flavour and colour! It´s very easy to create this alkaline fluid at home – all you need to do is add a generous amount of bicarbonate of soda to boiling water! The CO2 created in this reaction, however, makes the liquid foam up when you add the bicarb, so do be careful when you are adding it. You should also try to avoid touching the liquid too much and be careful not to get any in your eyes.
I´m super into the science behind this (and the science behind baking in general) so I have included this little reaction mechanism for you below if you´re interested!
How do you make “Laugenbrezeln”/German Pretzels?
“Laugenbrezeln” or Pretzels are actually a lot easier to make than you might think! The bread dough for these bread “rolls” is an enriched dough, made with milk (instead of water) and melted butter. Even if using dried fast-action yeast instead of fresh yeast, I still like to activate it in some lukewarm milk with some sugar and a little flour.
The dough is quite sticky, so I find it best to use an electric mixer to make this. I love to get my hands into the dough and knead it by hand usually, but this really is a sticky dough and it´s just a lot easier to do it with the dough hooks of a hand-held or free-standing mixer!
After a 30-60 minute prove the dough should have roughly doubled in size and be ready to use! Then the fun part begins – shaping the pretzels! I have a picture guide below to illustrate how it´s done.
The last thing you do before baking, is briefly blanch the pretzels in an alkaline fluid you make by adding bicarbonate of soda to boiling water (be CAREFUL when doing this, see tips above and in the recipe). Then place them on a tray, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and slash the thickest part of the dough horizontally before baking!
How to shape a Brezel/Pretzel – Step-by-Step
The best way to eat Brezeln/Pretzels
Brezeln can be found in every German bakery and are sold at every occasion! Bake sales, street parties, football stadiums and festivals – I think everyone´s first thought of German pretzels might involve a vision of Bavarians in Lederhosen, a pint of beer and a pretzel in hand at the “Oktoberfest”! Ah, we love a good stereotype!
On a more serious note though, Pretzels are great for any occasion! If you´re at a festival or some sort of event, for example a football match, pretzels are often sold alongside a sausage (boiled or fried), etc. For more “normal” or “regular” occasions, most people just buy Brezeln from the bakery. You can sometimes buy them split open and buttered (“Butterbrezeln” – soooo good!) but obviously most people just buy them plain and take them home! Brezeln are great for dipping into runny eggs and the best things to put on them or dip them into are butter (unsalted or salted), soft cheese or hummus! If you´re looking for a homemade hummus recipe check out this recipe here.
More German Baking Recipes
- Black Forest Gateau | “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte”
- Baked Chocolate Cheesecake | “Russischer Zupfkuchen”
- Seeded and Carrot Loaf | “Muntermacher”
- Strawberry Flan Cake | “Erdbeerboden”
- Marbled Traybake with Cherries and Chocolate | “Donauwellen”
- Beesting Cake | “Bienenstich”
- Enriched Dough Plait filled with Chocolate and Nuts | “Nusszopf”
- Bauernbrot | German Bread Baking
- Mohnstrietzel | German Poppy Seed Roll
German Laugenbrezeln | German Pretzels
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE DOUGH:
- 500g plain flour
- 350 ml milk (lukewarm)
- 7g fast-action dried yeast (or 15g fresh yeast)
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 12g fine sea salt
- 50g unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE ALKALINE SOLUTION
- 1L boiling water
- 50g bicarbonate of soda
TO FINISH
- coarse sea salt flakes
- Mixed seeds (optional)
Method:
- In a small bowl, activate the yeast by adding it to the lukewarm milk alongside the caster sugar and 3 tbsp of the flour. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 20 minutes. Melt the butter and leave it to cool to room temperature whilst you are waiting for the yeast.
- Put the remaining flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and pour in the activated yeast mixture and melted butter. Use an electric hand-held/free-standing mixer with the dough hooks attached to knead the mix for about 5 minutes until the dough is soft, less sticky, comes away from the edges of the bowl and starts to wrap itself in a ball of dough around the dough hooks. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to prove in a warm place for 30-60 minutes until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (around 115g each). To shape into a Brezel (pretzel) shape, start by rolling each piece of dough into a long sausage. Using pressure and starting from the middle of the strand, roll until about 40cm long and in a way that leaves the middle part a little thicker, with thinner bits of dough at the ends. Lay the strand of dough into a “U” shape, then take the ends and twist them twice around one another. Then fold over and tack the end bits onto the thicker piece of dough (see picture guide above for a step-by-step guide). Then place the pretzels on a tray lined with baking paper.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- CAREFUL WITH THIS NEXT STEP. Use a saucepan for this step that is deep but has a fairly narrow base (~3L pot). Make sure that once you have added 1L of water, it doesn´t fill more than ¾ of the pot. Once boiling, very CAREFULLY AND GRADUALLY add the bicarbonate of soda. The mix will foam up! Be careful not to get anything in your eye and avoid touching the liquid too much with your hands.
- Next, use a slotted spoon to briefly blanch the pretzels. Place one pretzel at a time into the liquid and leave for 15 seconds, then flip and leave for a further 15 seconds. Use the slotted spoon to remove the pretzel from the liquid and place it back onto the baking tray. If the holes seem to have closed up quite a bit, simply the back of a wooden spoon (or sth. similar) to open them up again a bit. Scatter the “Laugenbrezel” with some coarse sea salt or mixed seeds.
- Repeat with each pretzel until they are all done (Leave the alkali poaching liquid to cool in the pot and then just pour down the sink).
- Use a sharp knife, blade or bread lame to slash the thick part of the pretzels horizontally.
- Bake the Laugenbrezeln in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, until they are a dark brown colour and fully baked.
