Now here is a classic food of Philadelphia that won’t give you a coronary, the soft pretzel! If you have never had a Philly Soft Pretzel, you may be wondering what the big deal is. These things are delicious and addictive. They are comfort food to a tee. And they are damn near impossible to find outside of the tri-state area.

Originating in Bavaria, but finding a permanent and loving new world home in Philadelphia, PA (Philly foods may be the only thing that Philadelphians can love unconditionally.. looking at you Flyers!), the prefect soft preztel has a chewy, stretchy outer skin and a delicious softer, but still chewy interior. The warm pretzels fresh out of the oven have a special smell all there own (owing to the unique pretzel skin, but I get ahead of myself..), that has the power to bring you right back to the last time you had a great Philly Pretzel the way that only smells can.

There are a few secrets to the soft pretzel that Philadelphian bakers seem to guard rather over-zealously. When the irresistible urge to eat a real soft pretzel began to take hold, I scoured the internets for an authentic recipe and found a lot of b.s. and more than a few nasty Philadelphians with an attitude about giving out there secret family recipes (as a humorous example, see here, for some good ole’ fashion Philly attitude and banter). BAH! Several weeks later, I managed to cull the creme of the crop from all the rest of the non-sense out there, and, this recipe is the result. It comes mostly unmodified from this German food blog. I will update this page as I make refinements, but these are a very faithful representation of what I was looking for.

Other important sources of information to study include these treatises on European flour types and their U.S. equivalents, here and here. Additional info for this recipe can be found on this blog (a slightly simplified translation of the Chili and Ciabatta page). Much additional interesting background and discussion on soft pretzels is out there, but readers should be assured that the info presented here is what you are after, and are strongly encouraged to disregard any talk of eggs, egg wash, milk, etc., as these are part of the dis-information campaign being waged on the internets by those who would keep the pretzel secrets among the baking cognoscenti.

The recipe itself is quite easy, and simple to follow, but time consuming. You do need a kitchen scale. If you aren’t striving for pretzel trancendency and want to make something approching authentic without the mutli-day steps or acid-base chemistry, then go here. Otherwise, read on.

Soft Pretzels

Pâte fermentée

144g white bread flour
95 mL water
2.8g salt
Pinch of active dry yeast

Kneed everything together, cover and let rise for 12-16h at about 70F.

580g white bread flour
1.5 c. water
12g salt
6g active dry yeast
36g soft butter
10g barley malt syrup
Pâte fermentée

Mix everything together except the Pâte fermentée, and using a dough hook, knead for three minutes in a large stand mixer. Now add the Pâte fermentée in chunks and continue to kneed for five minutes. Let rise for an hour in a covered, slightly greased bowl, at 70F. Fold the dough and let rise for another hour (directions here).

Using a dough cutter, divide the dough mixture into 16 portions, and roll each portion out into ropes of about 20-24 inches in length. This is a somewhat sticky dough, so use a floured work surface and dust the pieces with flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. The shape of these lengths are not uniform, but should have a thick middle section (this will form the ‘belly’ of the pretzel), thinner outer sections and slightly fatter ends. I found it easiest to first work the glutenous dough into eight inch sections in my hands, then grasp the ends and thump the middle section onto my floured work surface while simultaneously stretching the dough. Finally, form the pretzels on a floured baking sheet (check You Tube for videos on mastering this step, it isn’t really as hard as it looks), cover with a linen cloth and let rise for 45 minutes to one hour (you looking for a doubling in size, so leave some room around each!). After the pretzels have risen, cool in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow for the next step without creating a messy disaster. Preheat your oven and a large, heavy ceramic baking stone placed on the bottom rack, to 450F.

Lye Bath*:
5 1/2 c. cold water
50g Food Grade NaOH*

Warning: Use ONLY glass, ceramic or stainless steel bakeware and utensils from this point on, the basic NaOH solution will eat through aluminum, your skin, etc.,. Use caution, protective eye wear, gloves and common sense*.

Slowly stir the NaOH into the cold water until fully dissolved. Using a large spatula (stainless barbecue utensils work great), immerse each Pretzel into the solution for 5 seconds. The Pretzel skin will puff slightly. Transfer each pretzel onto the hot baking stone (if it is not HOT, they will stick), and using a sharp knife, make an incision along the belly of the Pretzel. Sprinkle each Pretzel with the pretzel salt and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and approximately doubled in size. If you don’t use a baking stone, you may need to increase the baking time to 15 minutes.

*Provided for informational purposes only. I am in no way encouraging you to use NaOH, and take no responsibility for the outcome should anyone choose to attempt this recipe. If you have never handled caustic chemicals before, you should take an introductory chemistry class at your local community college to learn safe handling procedures!

 

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