Brezel

Name: Brezel
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 500g Wheat Flour, Type 550 or strong/bread flour; 280ml Water, lukewarm; 20g Yeast, fresh; 10g Salt, fine; 30g Butter, unsalted, softened; 10g Barley Malt Syrup, or 1 tsp sugar; 1 l Water, cold; 30g Sodium Hydroxide, food-grade (lye); for a 3% solution; 2 tbsp Salt, coarse pretzel (for topping)

These classic German-style Brezel (pretzels) bake up with a shiny, deeply browned crust and a chewy, tender interior, punctuated by the toasty sweetness of barley malt. A simple dough enriched with butter is shaped into iconic knots, treated briefly in a lye bath for that characteristic flavor and color, then baked to golden perfection. Serve warm for the best texture and aroma.

These classic German-style Brezel (pretzels) bake up with a shiny, deeply browned crust and a chewy, tender interior, punctuated b... Show more

Traditional German Recipe

Health Grade

D+ · Occasional

Rating

4.4

Time

2 hrs30 min

Price

0,10 €

Calories

267 kcal

vegetarian

low calorie

low sugar

kid friendly

Method

Mix the dough

In a large bowl, stir the lukewarm water, crumbled fresh yeast, and barley malt syrup together until the yeast starts to dissolve. Add the wheat flour, fine salt, and softened unsalted butter, then mix until a rough dough forms. Turn it out and knead it for 8 to 10 minutes until it feels smooth, elastic, and only slightly tacky.

Let it rise

Shape the dough into a ball, put it back in the bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm spot for 45 to 60 minutes, until it has doubled and looks puffy.

Shape the pretzels

Turn the dough onto the counter and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 50 cm long, tapering the ends slightly, then cross the ends over one another and press them down onto the lower curve to form a classic pretzel shape.

Chill and preheat

Set the shaped pretzels on parchment-lined baking sheets and chill them for 20 minutes so they firm up. At the same time, preheat the oven to 220° C.

Make the lye bath

Put on protective gloves and use a glass or stainless-steel bowl. Carefully pour the cold water into the bowl, then slowly add the food-grade lye to the water, stirring until it dissolves completely and you have a clear 3% solution. Always add lye to water, never water to lye.

Dip and salt

Working one at a time, dip each chilled pretzel into the lye bath for about 10 seconds, let the excess drip off, and return it to the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle each one generously with coarse pretzel salt while the surface is still wet.

Bake the pretzels

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through if your oven has hot spots, until the pretzels are a deep mahogany brown and glossy.

Cool and serve

Let the pretzels cool on a rack for 5 minutes so the crust sets, then serve them warm.

Ingredients

Method

For 8 servings

Adjust servings

For the dough (8 traditional German Laugenbrezeln)

500g Wheat Flour, Type 550 or strong/bread flour
280ml Water, lukewarm
20g Yeast, fresh
10g Salt, fine
30g Butter, unsalted, softened
10g Barley Malt Syrup, or 1 tsp sugar

For the lye bath and topping

1 l Water, cold
30g Sodium Hydroxide, food-grade (lye); for a 3% solution
2 tbsp Salt, coarse pretzel (for topping)

Nutrition

Per Serving.

Calories

267 kcal

13% of Daily kcal

Protein

7.3 g

15% RDI

Fat

3.9 g

1.9g sat fat

Carbs

49 g

18% RDI

Sugar

0.8 g

2% RDI

Fiber

2.4 g

8% RDI

Salt

4 g

80% RDI

Quality Profile

Scored against dietary guidelines.
Tap rows for a deeper breakdown.

Composite score - weighted by current nutrition science

D+ · 5.1 / 10

Comments

Click to rate

Ingredients

For 8 servings

Adjust servings

For the dough (8 traditional German Laugenbrezeln)

500g Wheat Flour, Type 550 or strong/bread flour
280ml Water, lukewarm
20g Yeast, fresh
10g Salt, fine
30g Butter, unsalted, softened
10g Barley Malt Syrup, or 1 tsp sugar

For the lye bath and topping

1 l Water, cold
30g Sodium Hydroxide, food-grade (lye); for a 3% solution
2 tbsp Salt, coarse pretzel (for topping)

Brezel

Method

Mix the dough

Let it rise

Shape the pretzels

Chill and preheat

Make the lye bath

Dip and salt

Bake the pretzels

Cool and serve

Ingredients

Method

For the dough (8 traditional German Laugenbrezeln)

For the lye bath and topping

Nutrition

Calories

Protein

Fat

Carbs

Sugar

Fiber

Salt

Quality Profile

Comments

Ingredients

For the dough (8 traditional German Laugenbrezeln)

For the lye bath and topping

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