German-style soft pretzels - no lye

[@aragusea]

Thanks to Helix Sleep for sponsoring this video! Click here helixsleep.com/ragusea for up to $200 off your Helix Sleep mattress plus two free pillows! Free shipping within the US! Mine is still puffier than soft pretzel dough! #helixsleep

[@davecool42]

I wish I could afford one because they sound good. Took the quiz and it recommended a $2,000 mattress. 💸😢

[@tz8785]

When you are doing the mall pretzels, could you do some without rinsing after the soda bath FOR SCIENCE?

[@danhobart4009]

Can you do the boiling step with croissants?

[@M0nkeyK1ng]

A quick tip from a german baker. Artisan style german pretzel actually are made like your cold fermented pizzadough. Way less yeast. 2 hours rest at room temperature (or until active). Then divide in portions and shaping. Afterwards you cold ferment them in the fridge. Which is very important. They need a "skin" so the lye does not get absorbed.

[@tolga1cool]

How would a proper dough recipe for Brezen would look like? The ones in this video don't look anything like pretzels in Germany. Especially the dough structure looks really weird when he pulls them apart

[@CordeliaWagner]

Whatever you do with yeast, let ist rest for at least 24 hours. It tastes better and is better for your microbiome.

[@marlasinger5018]

How long should you cold ferment it?

[@tiredtraveler3423]

I strongly doubt you are a German bakery, I am and have the papers in hand, and a swabian to boot. Pretzel dough is single lined, direct, no proofing or pre rest. Never was never will be. Dough is produced called. Pre portioned or shot through a divider. The whole following process with long working and cold rest/stiffing in the cooler is all it needs.

[@hogue3666]

@@tiredtraveler3423 Different strokes. :) Lots of recipes I come across add milk. The best I've ever made don't have dairy.

[@nikolai4241]

"Purists may get upset" As a German i can tell you, everybody likes to upset bavarians, even bavarians

[@ichsagnix4127]

But by presenting Bavaria as the inventors of Bretzeln you upset swabians.

[@anteeru8110]

You may like it, but they are actually the hardest to upset. They're pretty chill and generally couldn't give a damn about everything up north.

[@ichsagnix4127]

@@anteeru8110 Just tell them that their head of state is a franconian.

[@Lewisking50]

@@ichsagnix4127 Swabia belongs to Bavaria, so it's really just semantics :P I do think Swabian style pretzels are the better ones tho.

[@matthewkoslow3221]

I miss read Bavarians as Barbarians......I've been playing to much DnD...

[@IamJustaSimpleMan]

I'm German 🇩🇪 and I'll definitely try your recipe. One of the main reasons I've never tried making Brezels at home despite being from the German South, were they originated, was me being intimidated/not wanting to deal with an aggressive lye. Thank you Adam, really appreciate your streamlined recipes, that nonetheless still stay faithful to the dish, imho. Am a big fan. P.S.: as a swabian I appreciate you mentioning the differences between Bavarian and Swabian Brezels

[@irr3isont1Lt]

Germany here, I will try this too for the same reasons.

[@Faenwolf]

Another Swabian here - really appreciate the mentioning! Kudos! I grew up on the „Schwäbische Brezeln“. Fun fact: some senior citizens here put butter on them and dip them into black coffee before taking a bite… not joking…

[@FTfilm]

Wenn du im Haushalt putzt, hast du schon schlimmeres in der Hand gehabt, als die Lauge.

[@IamJustaSimpleMan]

@@FTfilm Bestimmt, aber a) kocht das Putzmittel wenigstens nicht, b) nutzen aus gutem Grund viele Leute beim Putzen Gummihandschuhe, und c) bevorzuge ich aus diesem Grund Essigreiniger und Neutralreiniger.

[@nopenope1]

@@Faenwolf I haven't tried this but I think I tried Kaba ;)

[@shew_bot3123]

sodium carbonate is also really good for making fresh ramen noodles, which are totally worth imo. i normally just make a large batch and freeze indiviual poritons of noodles

[@KJCurry]

recipe link you like?

[@TheOfficalAndI]

is it part of the dough and how does it change the noodles?

[@TehGreatFred]

@@TheOfficalAndI its part of the noodle, it acts as a dough conditioner I believe, makes them springyer

[@carsondubs]

It's also great for making pretzels and for making pretzels

[@bryanhumphreys940]

@@TheOfficalAndI it adds to the chew as well as colors them a little, although most commercial noodles have riboflavin added to get that deep yellow color.

[@sebastianhelgeson3559]

“It’s great for making pretzels AND for making PRETZELS” 😂😂

[@pangeaforever]

I just noticed that line on my second watch. Apparently the washing soda is good for absolutely nothing else

[@mountvernon5267]

The last time I made these was with yeast harvested from the batch of beer I was brewing, and also included some of the spent grain. Nice to drink a beer and eat a pretzel made with the same ingredients!

[@itmightbeciaran]

I've made pretzels with a beer yeast and swapped some of the water for beer. Seriously delicious.

[@IamJustaSimpleMan]

@@itmightbeciaran That sounds like an awesome idea and now I want to try it. Whats also pretty good, pizza dough with some beer in it. Really nice.

[@soggychip6302]

This is a genius idea

[@greenfacere210]

🤩 that sounds delicious

[@rezephae]

It's also great for making pretzels!

[@Fidanza97]

I heard it's also really great for making pretzels

[@freelancepear87kakkoka11]

and pretzels!

[@Azubi_Meatball4349]

dont forget pretzels!!

[@TheOfficalAndI]

I am still astonished that he forgot to mention that.

[@Seethi_C]

Was this meant to be a joke, or did he mean to say bagels?

[@gizanked]

As someone with more than one sibling that worked at an auntie Anne's, I too am a fan of mall pretzels. So soft, so buttery.

[@3Faidonas3]

Yeah they had some Auntie Anne's in Dublin when I visited, they tasted so good but I felt so guilty with every bite... Kind of glad I don't live in a city with this franchise otherwise I would definitely have a much uh less health diet :)

[@gvozdenmladenovic1763]

Thanks for sharing this recipe! I would like to share you a piece of information I got from a nice German lady who makes these regularly. She always uses baking soda, but in a different way. For every 500 grams of flour (it is estimated as she also uses flour based on dough stickness, the rest is almost the same as your recipe except baking powder): - Get dough together and kneed for about 2-3 min (no autolyze, no relaxing, nothing) - Make pretzels or any other shape right away, cover with cloth and store in a cold place, like fridge, for minimum of 1 hour and up to 10 hours. You want to feel a dry skin on them before moving on - At the same time, boil water with 250 grams of baking soda, and keep it at full boil for at least 10 minutes. Then let it cool down and reserve it for later (you want to keep the lid on as it sprays a lot druing boiling) - When pretzels are rested and ready, with a skin on the surface, bring the water/baking soda mix to boiling again, slow down to simmer and cook 30-45 sec each pretzel, turning them half way through - The rest is the same as in your recipe I would love to see you you try this technique and compare with your recipe :)

[@ChasingVapor]

the cooked baking soda is also great for making ramen noodles! makes them bouncy which is the defining texture of good ramen noodles!

[@drygrapejce8020]

"I refuse to be sorry for who I am" Oddly inspiring for a cooking channel 🤣🤣

[@marielcarey4288]

Wdym lmao it was never just a cooking channel

[@drygrapejce8020]

@@marielcarey4288 what I meant was I came here to learn how to make pretzels not question my existence 🤣

[@whatshisnamegain1]

Well, food has a lot to do with culture and identity, so kinda makes sense to me. Anyway, enjoy your pretzels 😄

[@bvoyelr]

One thing I quickly learned following your bread recipes is that autolyze works WAY better if you leave the fat out in the beginning. Salt can apparently be added later as well. Just mix them in after the autolyze is mostly complete and your result will be orders of magnitude better. At least mine were. That could be because I was trying to get way more fat into the bread.

[@DantHimself]

yeah i autolyze with only flour and water as well

[@aragusea]

I noticed no difference in my experiments, fwiw: kzbin.info/www/bejne/paPThZiOlKp6jqM Might make a difference on a commercial scale, or with an extremely rich dough. But it’s way easier to throw in everything at once, so even if there’s a minor benefit, it’s not worth it to me.

[@13Luk6iul]

I personally found thatbit makes no difference, if you just bake bread (/pretzels) pizza dough… with some oil in it. For brioche or similar enriched doughs it might make a difference.

[@bvoyelr]

@@13Luk6iul I'm making pizza dough. When I knead or autolyze with the fat, I get very little gluten - no window effect at all. The final product still holds air, though. I bet the bigger effect is the moisture of the dough. My favorite dough has been super moist with a lot of gluten, but I think it's the moisture that set it apart. More experimentation is warranted!

[@raspberryjam]

rich dough, that checks out

[@GabrielVXIX]

Great recipe! It is absolutely traditional to use fat in pretzels, there are even European regulations on the subject. the more butter the better imo. In terms of accuracy, I'd say most traditional recipes use more yeast than you did, and will put the pretzels in the fridge for an hour or two as opposed to the freezer. They rise quite well in there, but it's really preference. The additional of sugar isn't necessarily wrong, but most people would just use malt powder in place of it. You don't have to use so much malt powder, you could just do half and half, but I think malt is the defining flavor for a good pretzel. Next time you should try making obatzda. It means smashed cheese, it's sort of an acidic funky cheese dip and it's definitely better than nacho cheese (which I've never understood on pretzels). It's a very common addition to pretzels in Bavaria, especially during Oktoberfest.

[@Lewisking50]

Personally I never tried going overboard with fat (preferably lard), 40g to 50g is enough for 2 sheets/~14-16 pretzels. I do like heaping on the butter afterwards though. Didn't put the formed preztels in a fridge either, mainly because of space issues, was never a problem as I just covered them with a cloth (at room temp for ~2 hours). And I do agree, a good malt powder is very important, it's also fun to experiment with different flour and malt combinations^^

[@GabrielVXIX]

@@Lewisking50 I do about 10% butter for most German breads. And I agree about the flour, recently i've tried spiking my pretzel dough with a little bit of dark rye flour.

[@nefelpitou]

malt powder isn't something ive ever seen in an american store. perhaps there is something else that is equivalent?

[@tiredtraveler3423]

You may want to read again what Obadzda means.......I am not sure if you are German or not, but it means ...angeschlagen. which has nothing to do with beating the cheese but which condition the cheese you use for the recipe is. Because imported Brie/Camembert was quite expensive and how quickly it got overripe, the Bavarian (as well as Austrian and Hungarian) Housewives didn't want to discard the battered (not so fresh ergo angeschlagen/obatzd) cheese they made it into this cheese product with the adage of spices and other ingredients. There is a lot written about this particular topic, read up on it if you want.

[@GabrielVXIX]

@@tiredtraveler3423 Yes, obatzda was a verb of the bavarian dialect that is similar to the modern verb “angeschlagen”. You could interpret this as struck/smashed or battered, and of course it is historically the latter, like you said. And I never claimed otherwise. I just said that the noun Obatzda means smashed cheese, as it refers to the food. Which, nowadays, is pretty much the only lasting application of the word, since the verb is outdated. So when translating obatzda to english, i believe smashed cheese more accurately reflects the modern use of the word, which is referring to a dish of smashed, chopped, or mixed cheese with other ingredients like butter and spices. I’ve talked to native German speakers that also share this sentiment, and a couple who didn’t even know it meant anything else to begin with. It’s just not a verb people use anymore, so i think it’s okay to reinterpret it’s meaning to better reflect how it’s used, especially when translating culinary terms to other languages. “Pretzels with battered” just doesn’t really sound right. For all intents and purposes, the noun Obatzda is synonymous with smashed cheese, in my opinion.

[@JohnSmith-dr5zn]

Man, I kinda needed to hear "I refuse to be sorry for who I am". Never thought mall pretzels would be the context, but I needed that.

[@kidyuki1]

"It's great for making pretzels AND for making pretzels!" killed me

[@AJMansfield1]

6:25 The left-over Na2CO3 can also be used for making bagels, using a very similar 'boil it in a strong base for a few seconds' technique.

[@gangstreG123]

Bagels are not boiled in base like pretzels, they are boiled in malt syrup which Adam has another video about.

[@nosrepa]

It's also great for making pretzels!

[@megustAslagt]

Little thing I gotta say as a chemistry teacher: bicarbonate (HCO3 with a single negative charge) is the same as hydrogen carbonate (H+ and CO3 with a double negative charge). Hydrogen bicarbonate would be carbonic acid (H2CO3) Love your videos btw, in large because you include the chemical background to cooking!

[@sablovestwice]

i hate the fact that bicarbonate is used to describe HCO3 it just discards all nomenclature, irks my soul

[@psyneur9182]

As a pedantic response to your pedantic comment, "hydrogen carbonate" isn't a thing. Adam was talking about "hydrogencarbonate", which is the recommended name for bicarbonate molecule. And hydrogencarbonate is not "H+ and CO3 with a double negative charge", it is HC03 with a single negative charge.

[@fsen1999]

​@@psyneur9182 "hydrogen carbonate" has been used to describe bi carb. a quite outdated name (but still used, ie by sigma) is natrium (sodium) hydrogen carbonate (with a space). Its talking about each distinctive component. Carbonate referring to CO3(2-). i wouldnt really call OP pedantic here, just a fun fact.

[@Vili123]

@@psyneur9182 I guess what they meant by H+ and CO3^2- is that its a carbonate ion with an oxygen datively bonded to a proton. I’d say it’s a correct description because it’s perfectly reasonable imo to view the bicarbonate ion as a singly protonated carbonate. Perhaps H+ WITH CO3^2- is a more accurate description

[@aragusea]

Hey teach, you seem to have misheard what I said in the video?

[@bobbygaglione7553]

As a lye pretzel enthusiast this was a very fair explanation. I would assume these pretzels would be more crushable than the lye process, but not as weak in flavor intensity as the untreated baking soda. Very cool and interesting note on the post soak rinse. Cheers

[@kamrynm9780]

The recipe I've used has the pretzels boiling for about 30 seconds in baking soda, and I've always wondered why I did that lol. Definitely going to try this recipe and compare with the previous one. Thanks for the cool video!

[@aModernDandy]

I'm a German, specifically from Swabia, living abroad - pretzels are the one thing I really miss about Geeman food, because I can make everything else I can't get here myself. Time to learn how to make pretzels!

[@santouchesantouche2873]

The mall pretzel is one of most delicious things I've ever eaten. Obstensively simple yet omg... I still think about the pretzels I ate and what my mood was... delightful

[@PJEA00]

The Sodium Carbonate (washing soda) is also a key component in making ramen noodles if anyone is interested

[@brycebedah9609]

It's also great for making pretzels!

[@MatthijsvanDuin]

you mean sodium carbonate

[@PJEA00]

@@MatthijsvanDuin yes, thnx

[@m.h.6470]

as someone currently living in Swabia, I can say, that the only two noticeable differences to store bought "Brezeln" (as they are called here; singular would be "Brezel"), is (A) the color, which is a lot lighter on yours and (B) the skin on yours is "broken" on several places on yours - store bought ones only have the one slash on the belly and the skin is smooth everywhere else. I assume, that both of these differences come from the none lye treatment - maybe the folding of the dough (like Croissants) also has something to do with it. Anyway, they look great for self made "Brezeln". As a side note: The thickness of the arms varies a lot even in Swabia, what matters most is the thickness of the "inner" arms. They should be thin enough, to be crunchy. Bavarian ones are soft all around.

[@schwarzermoritz]

His dough has too much yeast and he lets it's rise for too long. Too much gas, too big pores, too much tearing. Brezn are slightly under fermented if anything.

[@manuron553]

The washing soda is also great for making alkaline noodles. Yields an amazing texture.

[@birchtree6975]

I made pretzels once with a very convenient "box mix" that just had pre portioned dry ingredients, including a sachet of lye. I had a lot of fun making them and no burns! Would recommend to anyone, they're sooo good

[@ramonafrombarcelona]

A word of advice on the "baking/cooking the baking soda" method: let it cool covered, tightly if possible, and don't let it sit for long. All the water you drove out will come back in, specially in humid environments due to its hygroscopic nature.

[@thomasa5619]

Don’t suppose you know what he means when he says lye breaks down in the oven? I was surprised by that, and googling “heating lye” only shows that it melts at 323° and not that it decomposes into anything (also lots of results about bodies…)

[@royeckhardt9016]

@@thomasa5619 My guess would be that it forms a carbonate or something similar during the baking process, becoming neutral and non-hazardous for consumption. It was probably just imprecise language.

[@thomasa5619]

@@royeckhardt9016 ahh yeah, a few googles about carbonate suggests it absorbs CO2 from the air and converts Thanks :) I’m sure I’m already on some government list tho

[@dachannien]

When I cooked my own washing soda, I ended up with a lot of powder wafting off of the top when I stirred. The entire stove was covered in a powdery residue, which I can only assume was washing soda. I'm sure it wasn't super healthy to breathe, so I tried to avoid it as much as I could.

[@Pruuc]

You can also use the sodium carbonate to make noodles for ramen! Would love to see an episode on that.

[@thatdude_93]

I don't know if this is an american thing but here in bavaria i've never seen any other type of pretzel, or 'brezn' as we call them, than then one you called 'swabian'. Thick soft belly with a slash and crispy arms. I believe selling people a fully crispy brezn would probably get you arrested ;). Edit: For those who wanna try it, traditional toppings for brezn in bavaria are usually 1. nothing , 2. lots of butter or 3. lots of butter and chives. Cured meats like a good speck or salami also go very well together with brezn, but in bakeries you'll usually find options 1-3. We also have 'Käsebrezn' (Cheesepretzels) which are just brezn, covered with a lot of cheese (not cheese whizz) and then baked again in the oven. As you probably can imagine, they're also very good. Greetings from Munich.

[@rumbleinthekitchen_Amy]

I've used this method and it is pretty slick. But for anyone who wants to try the lye option I found lye water at my local Asian Market and it was easier than I thought it would be. They taste pretty yummy too.

[@justforplaylists]

That's also called kansui?

[@rumbleinthekitchen_Amy]

@@justforplaylists you probably know better than I do. The stuff I found had "Lye Water" written in English and I will admit that I didn't look at anything else on the label.

[@iang0th]

@@justforplaylists A quick Google search shows that it's usually a mix of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate, but it's also translated as "lye water," presumably incorrectly.

[@suezotiger]

Yeah the lye water I use from the Asian supermarket doesn't have lye in it. But I did find food grade lye on Amazon for only like 10 dollars for a pound? I've made pretzels a half dozen times and i still have a good bit left. I just wear nitrile gloves, use a glass bowl, and work over parchment paper because lye will strip the sealant from a stone countertop. A 4 percent lye solution can be safely disposed of down your sink and then I just run cool water after for a couple minutes and rinse out the bowl.

[@apathyboy]

@@suezotiger you probably dont need to worry even that much. Commercial drain cleaners are mostly lye or concentrated solutions of it, so pipes are quite resistant to even strong solutions

[@gooddaytodyi]

I really appreciate Adam's videos for the little tips. I've seen a ton of videos on how to make Bavarian pretzels most saying to bake the soda which is a pain. Using a pot for it seems so much quicker and easier.

[@cliffwood7386]

"Great for making pretzels AND for making pretzels!" got a full laugh out of me, well done.

[@visdomplays3468]

I appreciate That you know the difference between swabian and bavarian brezn

[@AxelLeJeff]

I used diastatic malt powder in my last batch, the combination of that and the soda wash did wonders compared to previous batches where I only did an egg/butter wash. I personally recommend brushing them with melted butter right out of the oven.

[@puellanivis]

> I personally recommend brushing them with melted butter right out of the oven. Brilliant, get this person a nobel prize! 😂

[@Canman99]

I made a double batch of these last night for my fantasy playoff hockey pool! They were incredible! I couldn't get food grade lye sent to me in time, so I made the baked baking soda. It was pretty cool watching it bubble away in the pan. As for the pretzels, I definitely struggled to form mine- they had a bit of skin on them from sitting in the fridge for a while. Mine definitely were thicker than yours. But the end result was delicious- they took a bit longer in the oven. I checked them at 15 minutes and they weren't very brown. By 18 or 19 minutes they were incredible. Beautiful dark brown colour, great flavour and that wonderful chewiness. Thank you for a spectacular recipe.

[@Yotanido]

I've made Laugenbrötchen (lye rolls - similar to pretzels with the lye, but different shape and dough) before, and I just used baking soda. They ended up looking and tasting like one you'd find in a bakery, with the deep colour and shiny surface. I would have expected the sodium carbonate ones to turn out the same, if not better. I did leave the sodiumhydrogencarbonate solution on the rolls, though - didn't detect any off taste. It was nowhere near a fully saturated solution, though - I used 60g of baking soda in about 2 litres of water. So, I feel like a weaker solution, but not washing it off is probably the best option, looking at the results in the video. Although it might also be the dough, I don't know. I followed a recipe here on KZbin by channel "Thomas kocht". It is in German, but the ingredients are listed in the description and should be easy to machine-translate.

[@puellanivis]

🤔 … 😮true! If you don’t wash off the base, then obviously it’s going to continue doing its work until it either breaks down in the oven like lye, or it’s just… done backing.

[@Tomahawkist_]

cool trick for making pretzels in a visually appealing way: if your dough is stretchy enough, you can "throw" the pretzels into the air with the little arms, and then twist them while they are still in the air. takes a bit of practice, but looks way cooler than just making the knot while flat on the counter.

[@jayluper9523]

The reveal to the dough on the mattress was hilarious 😂

[@Pinstar]

Tried this at home and it turned out great! Took me a few tries to get the shape right. One alteration I tried that worked out really well was coating the outside with everything bagel seasoning instead of salt. (I tried just one with the bagel seasoning and the rest salt) The everything bagel seasoning turned out really well. The sesame and poppy seeds get nice and toasted in the oven without burning and there is still salt in that mixture.

[@rachelle2227]

Omg, yes! I’ve been making soft pretzels for a few years, and have been using baking soda. Lots of unique tips here I will actually use! I never wanted to use lye like I saw in other videos. I find that freezing some the same day I made them helps a lot for freshness. I like to make a cheese sauce for mine, yum! Just heavy cream, sodium citrate, sharp cheddar cheese, and xanthum gum ( I use to use cornstarch, but xanthum gum is easier to use and more foolproof).

[@puellanivis]

> Makes their own velveeta. Nice.

[@danakanam5]

I couldn't find a recipe that details what he did, so: German-Style Soft Pretzel (no lye) : Dough: . A cup of water (237 mL) . Teaspoon of yeast . A tablespoon of sugar . A tablespoon or two of melted butter or oil . Teaspoon of Kosher Salt . (optional) Teaspoon of baking powder . As much bread flour as you can stir in with a spoon . Cover with a wet towel for ~20 minutes Washing Soda: . (A bunch) of baking soda in a dry pan and turn the heat on high for ~15 minutes, (to remove the water) you will know when it's done when you shake or stir the pan and there is no more gas geysers, it should weigh less than 2/3 its original weight dough: . Knead the dough and add more flour to assist with kneading . The dough should be tacky not super sticky, just barely sticky . Cover and let rise for a while until it's fluffy . Cut dough into quarters . Flatten the dough into triangles . grab the point of the triangle and roll inwards to make a loaf with tapered ends . Cover the dough again for 20-30 minutes . Essentially just roll the outer ends and try for a more Swabian shape . roll the ends and leave the belly in the center alone . Get the rope a lot longer than you might want it for no snap back . Make a U, twist the ends, fold them over, done . cover with towel for about a half hour . (optional) Throw them into the freezer to harden up more but not frozen Procedures: . A wide deep pan of water for boiling and a wide deep bowl of water for rinsing . Put the heat on high and add as much of your washing soda as can easily dissolve . Water should go clear after a few minutes of stirring . (You can save the extra washing soda) . The water does not need to be in a rolling boil, just really hot . Put pretzel into the pan for around 10-15 seconds . Rinse the pretzel for a few seconds . Sprinkle on your salt while wet (big flakes preferred) . Slash the belly of the pretzel Baking: . put the pretzels into a fully preheated oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit/ 220 degrees Celsius . pull the pretzels our whenever they are brown to your liking . Spray or brush on some water whilst the pretzels are still really hot (for glaze) Enjoy: . Enjoy Why are you still here? 9:29

[@danakanam5]

this was pain to make

[@MikeKing001]

Did you check the description?

[@JonathanMandrake]

They look pretty acurrate for not using lye, but it's still noticable from view alone

[@rainbowllamas7423]

They look like pretzels to me

[@MartysRandomStuff]

First recipe I've seen with the washing step, I switched to using NaOH instead of NaHCO3 because of the taste, none of the recipes I've tried in the past with boiling baking soda or cooked baking soda mentioned rinsing the pretzels. Using lye is both easier and harder, don't have to deal with putting them in boiling water, but it does require gloves and safety glasses. Lye does keep your drain clean so that's a bonus. 🙂 Pretty easy to get food grade sodium hydroxide from amazon.

[@GadBoDag]

Yeah, ultimately a pot of lukewarm sodium hydroxide solution and a pot of boiling water are about equally dangerous. However, people are familiar with boiling water and see probably less likely to freak out and do something weird because they're nervous.

[@AlkonKomm]

the unreasonable fear some people seem to have of a 3% lye solution is really weird, its honestly 100x more convenient not having to put the pretzels in boiling water. Literally just wear gloves and be reasonably careful, there isn't much you can do to fuck up, if you get some on your skin just rinse it, its not that bad.

[@puellanivis]

Fun fact, lye is a great drain cleaner because basic substances turn fat into soap through saponification. It’s a) why ammonia mixes are great for cleaning grease, 1) why Sodium Bicarb is good as a fire extinguishing substance. It not only smothers the fire like a lid, or salt, but the heat causes it to break down into washing soda (as demoed in video) which absorbs heat, also as part of the breakdown to washing soda is the generation of CO₂, and then finally, the sodium bicarb, and the sodium carb turn a grease fire into soap, removing fuel.

[@GadBoDag]

@@puellanivis The "turning oil into soap to put the fire out" bit is a stretch, especially because soap is flammable...

[@seronymus]

@@GadBoDag soap is inflammable

[@SuperGnarWhales]

i'm convinced adam has a 20 room house just filled with free mattresses

[@notenoughpaper]

As a chemist i have to make a side note: sodium bicarbonate is just a different name of sodium hydrogencarbonate (NaHCO3). Heating it creates *sodium carbonate* (Na2CO3), CO2 and water.

[@dylanwilliams7868]

I am never going to make a pretzel but boy was it sure fun watching Adam make them. I love this channel

[@rafaelcole8082]

I made pretzels for the first time about 2 yrs ago using a similar recipe I found online, except it did not mention washing it before putting them in the oven after boiling. So why it did taste exactly like a pretzel, it also very much tasted like baking soda, pretty much making them inedible. Haven't tried it since, but might thanks to this video.

[@coalfpv]

"It's great for making pretzels AND making pretzels." This has been my experience with baking soda. Thanks for the tip about boiling baking soda dry to increase pH.

[@oldasyouromens]

my father lived in the Black Forest from the time he was 26 until he met my mom 10 years later, and when we went back we had pretzels with this shape. I am so glad you developed a recipe!

[@toastytino]

This is particularly interesting as a native German. I usually use sodium bicarbonate NaHCO₃ instead of sodium carbonate Na₂CO₃ but I assume it won't make much of a difference. The pretzel kneading move is indeed tough to learn, but the thinner you roll the outer ends the better, in my opinion. Thick arms on a pretzel is the Bavarian version, thin arms is the Swabian version. As I am a Swabian, I am biased of course, but hey soft body and crunchy arms is the perfect combination in my book! TLDR: Your pretzels look yummy and I'd love to try one! Here's your official German approvel stamp 🥨

[@kevinrees1859]

I just made these (with slight variations) and they turned out amazing. I cut the dough into 8 pieces to make smaller pretzels, and I did half with salt and half with cinnamon sugar. I put the salt on before baking, but the cinnamon sugar I put on after. I brushed melted butter on all of them when they were fresh out of the oven, and immediately tossed the unsalted ones in the cinnamon sugar. Great recipe and video Adam.

[@sebastianhelgeson3559]

Please make a mall pretzel recipe! I know they aren’t traditional but the cinnamon sugar ones reminds me of my childhood

[@fnjesusfreak]

My thing in my later teenage years was jalapeño pretzels. XD

[@josephelhardt4944]

I used to work at a mall pretzel place. The main notes I would give are: a) most of it's exactly the same as this recipe, you want some sugar and some oil in the dough to make it softer and more pliable; b) we would ideally let the pretzels proof for 5-10 minutes (in a hot environment) sprayed lightly with oil and covered with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out before baking, this would add volume; c) we had a spray bottle with a baking soda solution we'd spritz over the pretzels before baking rather than actually submerging them in a separate solution-- if you skipped this, they were just super pale and not very appetizing looking, but the baking soda didn't do a ton of heavy lifting flavor- or texture-wise d) we baked them really hot, like 500-550 degrees F, and for maybe 5ish minutes (or however long it took for them to get nice and golden, this made them fluffier and softer as well); e) they came out of the oven and were immediately brushed with melted "butter" and then had sea salt put on them-- the baking soda solution from the spray bottles didn't let salt adhere as well as it does on cooked pretzels, so you had to sprinkle it on afterwards; f) if you wanted any flavorings (cinnamon sugar, parm, garlic powder), do it right after buttering them by putting pretzels in a closed container with toppings and shaking them around.

[@elpukito]

Another German here. These look great, even though they might not be super traditional - but the original way is quite intimidating to do at home. The best way to eat them is to slice them horizontally just like you would a sandwich roll, spread plenty of butter on the inside and just have them like that as a snack. Add some coarse sweet mustard, poached Weißwurst and a Hefeweizen beer and you got yourself a classic bavarian breakfast. Another great addition is something called Obatzda, which is a spread made primarily from Camembert cheese, fairly easy to make, if you're looking for more German home cook recipes.

[@ProfessionalAustralianShitpost]

brot

[@Legomyegoorj]

Thanks Adam, I’ll try this out for sure. But I will also say that using plain old baking soda in the water has helped me approach the browning of a real pretzel when making my own at home anyway, so I’m not sure if the conversion into Sodium carbonate is really worth it. Anyway, thanks for the ideas!

[@mextie]

The washing soda and acidity into water is more for taste, not for browning tho (I could be wrong)

[@sercanege3195]

@@mextie It is accelerating the Maillard reaction (browning and taste)

[@MinaF99]

I think a baking soda egg wash combo is perfectly fine for home bakers

[@thetaintpainter5443]

@@mextie you don’t add acidity to the water, it’s alkalinity. It speeds up browning

[@HeraBek]

"Baked soda" is also used in ramen noodle making, along with potassium carbonate, both of which along with salt affect gluten structure (extensibility, elasticity, and strength) to get that perfect ramen noodle chew. It's sold in liquid alkaline form called "Kansui". Diastatic Malt powder also helps relax gluten, increases sugar content, and creates a darker crust.

[@abbuw-]

i tryed to make pretzels of germen style a while a go but i didnt have lye so i had to use cement since it has lye and let me tell you what it was rock hard, thanks for this new recipe

[@joseph_b319]

Thats so cool i just made pretzels today. Next time im going to do the cooked soda technique. Me i prefer sesame seeds on my pretzels. But to each their own.

[@UfoLBeerSeeker]

It is remarkably similar to how we do them in Kraków, Poland. Our pretzels, or "Obwarzanek" got its name from dipping in hot water, not sure about caustic ingredient though. Have the same browning and puff too. Some add some honey to make it shinier. We also sprinkle them with sesame or poppy seeds, or some spicy seasoning... or everything at once. You've got to try them.

[@oldcowbb]

That's more like bagle

[@maenad1231]

Your pretzels look delicious - no lie

[@anteeru8110]

Honestly, frozen raw dough Brezeln are sold in every supermarket here in Germany and when baked they are virtually indistinguishable from freshly baked ones. Theyre even better than the bakery cause the bakery will rarely give them to you still warm. Add butter and ascend to heaven.

[@19DannyBoy65]

The fork scraping on the pot at 2:20 damn near made me throw my headset off

[@SusanIvanova2257]

Get yourself some frozen/ready to bake croissants and give them a lye bath before baking. Trust me it's amazing, the glassy crust and savouriness go amazingly well with the buttery croissant interior.

[@fbiguy5269]

You from Germany? Some bakeries actually sell croissants like this. They are called Laugen Croissant.

[@SusanIvanova2257]

@@fbiguy5269 sure am. That's why I suggested it. I've made some with home made croissants but I would never suggest someone else do that unless you really feel like you need to prove yourself that you can pull off croissants. The amount of work they take on a small scale is absurd. Laugencroissants also work with the ready made dough from the supermarket.

[@brycewalburn3926]

I had never heard the term Swabia before. My grandmother lived the first 7 or 8 years of her life in Stuttgart. I was lucky enough to be able to visit a few years back. It's a lovely region.

[@arthrodea]

We seriously need a BEER CHEESE recipe to go with this!!! It would be great discussion of how to get a smooth velvety cheese sauce.

[@ZonalJump97]

I think he already did a video about that Sodium citrate

[@hazeltucker08]

I didn't to so well making the pretzels, but when I poured the baking soda concoction down the drain afterward, it cleared the drain pronto! So that's now my go-to recipe for clearing a clogged drain.

[@arkesh110]

Wait, this is really gonna make me german pretzels, no lye?

[@starboost7333]

A year and this is all this comment got in recognition?

[@mRhea]

love the videos as always @Adam wanted to point out something you probably missed, due to ears older than my own at 2:21 you scrape your fork on your pan it makes an incredibly loud high pitched noise it'd be very visible in a spectrogram, and easily removed with an eraser

[@jasonreed7522]

I wouldn't call it loud but you definitely can hear a high pitched metal on metal sound. I didn't even notice it the first time through the video. (Or atleast not enough to remember that i heard it)

[@garemge]

"No lye" Is this supposed to be a word play? if yes i love this man

[@knowk5737]

everyday i just seach anything on youtube and go on my youtube journey of completely unrelated topics ranging from history, gaming, to human anatomy and yet somehow i keep ending up on one of your videos. theyre all great videos so i usually watch the entire video then go back to the youtube home page to start another journey. and then end up here again.

[@zissou666]

As a German and a big fan of your content (video and podcast) I am very happy about your German pretzels. I do these just like you! You should cut the belly part horizontalwise and put butter and chives in the middle 😍 the best! Or dip it into Bavarian sweet mustard. I could sustain on this for months Thanks Adam! Btw I have some questions swirling around my head but I am too shy to record it for your pod :))

[@0910MK1]

YES, sweet mustard and white sausages!! 🤩 Or with butter and a little bit Nutella 😋

[@user-jy8vr3rv1w]

Go for it, recording without video might be easier? You have nothing to lose :)

[@zissou666]

@@0910MK1 oh ja! Nutella! Very good combo!

[@zissou666]

@@user-jy8vr3rv1w I know … :)

[@govindagarwal3310]

1:30 sodium bicarbonate is another name for sodium hydrogen carbonate, they are the exact same substance. the HCO3 group is known as bicarbonate

[@AlkonKomm]

Oh boy, as a bavarian that bakes a lot I just cant help giving unsolicited advice on this one, I am sorry in advance. Few things I would like to mention 1) If possible get real lye, I avoided using it for years, but its honestly not that dangerous, and the end result is just WAY better, I regret not buying some from the get go. (Also: We NEVER heat the lye.) 2) diastatic malt powder (Gerstenmalz) is a lot better than sugar for pretzels. 3) pretzels should be kind of "dense", so I would avoid using all american bread flour, and I would also not let them proof for long, they should go in the oven still looking somewhat small (knappe Gare) 4) adding a bit of sourdough or a yeast pre-ferment does wonders for the flavor, otherwise pretzels can taste a bit bland due to short fermentation times. 5) putting them in the fridge or freezer like Adam does is essential for good pretzels, do not skip this step. Here's my recipe (for anybody who cares) for 12 bavarian pretzels (Bayrische Brezen): Weizensauerteig (pre-ferment) 120g Weizenmehl 812 (non germans: 100g AP flour, 20g whole wheat flour) 100g Wasser (100g water) 20g Weizensauer (20g Sourdough starter; dont have one? pea-sized piece of yeast) Ferment over night at room temperature for around 12 hours. Main Dough: 200g reifer Weizensauerteig (200g ripe Pre-Ferment) 300g Weizenmehl 700 (300g Bread flour) 200g Weizenmehl 480 (200g AP Flour) 100g Roggenmehl 500 (100g rye flour; if not available just use AP) 300g Wasser (300g water, needs to be COLD! for swabian style use milk) 20g Frische Hefe (20g fresh yeast) 20g Butter (20g butter; for swabian style use 60g) 10g Gerstenmalz (10g diastatic malt powder, preferably barley) 14g Salz (14g salt) Also: Brezenlauge (Lye; bavarian style: 2.5-3%, swabian style 3.5-4%) Brezensalz (coarse salt. bavarian style: all over the pretzel, swabian style: only the "belly") Mix all ingredients but don't overknead the dough, pretzels are supposed to be dense. Maybe knead for around 8 minutes, then let them rest for 20 minutes. Important: the dough is NOT supposed to really start rising yet, thats why we use cold water. If your dough already rises you are going to have a hard time shaping the pretzels. Form 12 "balls" of dough, around 100g each, and let them rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten (like Adam did), then start rolling logs; whenever you feel like they are pulling back too much, let them rest for a second and shape the next ball into a log instead. Keep doing that until you got long ropes of dough, then form the pretzel. (Bavarian style: everything about the same size, swabian style: really big belly, really small arms) Let the pretzels rest for 15 minutes at room temperature, then put them in the fridge (6-8°) without covering them and let them form a bit of a "skin" (for around an hour) Preheat the oven to 250° (480F) Dip the pretzels in the lye (NOT hot lye, 30° max), put them on a baking tray, salt them. Use 2 sheets of baking paper and don't put them on aluminum directly (cause of the lye) If you want it swabian style, score them, bavarian style, just let them "burst open" naturally. Put the pretzels in the oven, reduce the heat to 230° (440F) and bake for 15 minutes. Keep your oven door open just a tiny bit for the last 5 minutes to let the steam escape. Take the pretzels out, immediately spray them with water. Done.

[@breakies]

PSA if you make German Pretzels please make them with "Obatzda"!! Recipe: -200g of Camembert -1 red Onion diced -½ Ts Caraway seed -50 g Butter -100g cream Cheese -2-3 sweet Paprika Powder -2 cloves of Garlic minced -Salt and Pepper to taste Just mix it up in a bowl with forks and shred the cheese and youre done. Dipping Pretzels into that is the absolute best thing.

[@nykole1963]

You should do pumpkin pretzels that have butter, brown sugar, cinnamon on them before baking, and the crystals can be sugar crystals!

[@Alactrium]

These seem legit! You're right, it's more traditional to have chunks of rock salt as a topping, but quite honestly they are way to salty and also, you know, hard. For a (also traditional but completely different) german pretzel, might I suggest the Martinsbrezel? Traditionally given out on St. Martin's Day, it's a sweet pretzel. In the Rhineland there are large processions and bonfires on St. Martin's where sugary pretzels are handed out to children who are carrying a home made lanterns. I live in the city now where those traditions are less common, but when I was a child in a village that was one of the coolest "holidays" of the year.

[@GibusWearingMann]

When you do the mall pretzel video, could you include a recipe for one topped with cinnamon sugar? That was always my favorite kind.

[@winewoman224]

Wow! Someone who appreciates Harold McGee! I slept with his book under my pillow at culinary school in 1985, the year it was published. He’s a master in the kitchen.

[@paulquast4004]

Mustard?! No!! Put on some butter, or you could dunk them in hot chocolate milk (nice contrast with the salt) - some people eat them with jam or honey like a bread roll - but most of the time (if they are quality Bretzeln) butter is enough. Sweet Mustard and Bretzeln are eaten with white sausage at certain festivities, but I would never put mustard directly on the Bretzel, like I do with butter. I would typically dip the sausage in mustard and eat the Bretzel with butter on the side - served with wheat beer or apple juice spritzer. Anyway, just my opinion as a Swabian German from Stuttgart. I love that you are trying this, Adam! Big fan, been watching for years :)

[@xtdycxtfuv9353]

Excellently produced, Ragusea. I took many notes; I hope I can apply them to my baking soon. Very educational, and for that I leave a like.

[@HankGreenHankGre]

Hey Adam, I've been watching you since your first New York style pizza video, and I love your content, you taught me how to cook, and I've recently been binging your gardening related videos. I would love more videos on the science of plants and home grown food stuffs. You've got a knack for making me interested in stuff I've never though about

[@cookiesandstreams]

thanks adam. lye was the only thing stopping me from making pretzels at home. these look great.

[@buzzbuzzluke]

Hey Adam, have you tried using a calcium hydroxide (often called "cal", especially by Spanish-speakers) solution? It's relatively easy to find in a food grade quality where I live in California. I have some in my kitchen that I need to use up, so it'd be good to know if you've happened to find any success or failure in using it for pretzels!

[@martinofgliwice1486]

I didn't know you can get calcium hydroxide anywhere that is food grade but what do you know? Calcium hydroxide is poorly soluble in water and on contact with carbon dioxide will become cloudy fast. And it is more caustic than sodium carbonate. So there are potential issues but it may work in some circumstances. Fun fact is that by mixing sodium carbonate and calcium hydroxide you will get sodium hydroxide (lye) and calcium carbonate which you can filter off and get food-grade lye this way.

[@buzzbuzzluke]

@@martinofgliwice1486 Ahh that's true, I had forgotten that the solubility in water kinda sucks And that *is* a fun fact! Dunno if I plan to personally test it though lol

[@puellanivis]

Calcium hydroxide, the other other other lime. (Seriously, why are there _two_ lime trees?) It’s easy to find here because it’s used to treat hominy. Actually, it would be kind of cool to see a video on nixtamalization!

[@farticlesofconflatulation]

It’s pretty much the same lime you get at the Home Depot next to the portland cement.

[@paulblichmann2791]

It doesn't dissolve. It won't do anything.

[@ThatGamerDude9000]

I honestly just use your pan pizza dough recipe for my pretzel dough. I haven't tasted these, but I honestly have no problem using excess pizza dough for pretzels when I am out of pesto and tomatoes. First time I heard about boiling water out of baking soda. Looks like I can save some eggs in the future (and don't waste so much powder).

[@martenalvarado7147]

I just made these in an air fryer and everyone from my in-laws to my 8 yr old loved them! I dunked a couple of them for longer than 15 seconds and they started melting - barely making it to oven rack. They still all turned out so delicious that they didn't survive long enough for us to find the nacho cheese to dip them in!

[@darthsepp]

that moment of patriotic shock when he said mustard at the end 😱 we usually only eat "Brezen" with butter or maybe some cream cheese

[@scrimscigarettebud2939]

Hey Adam, I know this is a little different from other comments but I just wanted to tel you man that I Love you and your content. It’s gotten me through so much I can’t even tell you, It’s hard to elaborate your importance to me. You’ve quite literally saved my life in a lot of ways, I’ve probably watched every video atleast 10 times (not joking, I’d say higher) I keep up with my skill of cooking too which is awful but ya know we all start somewhere. I’ve been officially 17 for like 3 days and I’ll be talking to a Army recruiter, So my life will start pretty soon. But saying that I’ll always remember you and continue to watch you for as long as I can. So again I thank you man really, You’ve helped me so much, Even inspired my Digital design, Your video editing skills are probably overlooked, They’re very impressive and I see constant improvement. Again thank you so much. - Noah

[@magicalcapi9148]

6:39 "it's great for making pretzels, AND, for making pretzels!" I guess I'll make some pretzels 😂

[@Kskillz2]

I love soft pretzels 🥨 ❤

[@HowToSpacic]

No lye?

[@Andrew-wp1bz]

No lye?

[@Sharky762]

As a Dutchman who flew back and forth to Stuttgart on a weekly basis for a couple of years...I have to say... these look pretty darn good!

[@shift-happens]

If we now also realize that the correct name is Bretzel, not Pretzel, we can all enjoy this delight together! :)

[@IamJustaSimpleMan]

In American English the spelling with P instead of B is actually common, and makes sense when you hear them pronouncing it with a hard P instead of a soft B. 😊

[@shift-happens]

@@IamJustaSimpleMan Indeed. I also found this pretty interesting detail, that I was not aware of: The English spelling pretzel with p probably reflects the pronunciation of Brezel in one of the dialects of southern Germany. In many of these dialects, the letters b and p are pronounced identically when they occur at the beginning of a word, and they have a sound that reminds English speakers of a p. In Germany, pretzels are traditionally associated with Lent and Easter, and the overlapping strands of dough in a pretzel are said to represent the arms of a person with hands folded in prayer. In fact, German Brezel is ultimately derived from the Latin word for "arm," bracchium. Brezel comes from the Medieval Latin word bracellus, which referred to some sort of baked item, presumably like a pretzel @Adam: thanks for this video :)

[@ichbin1984]

I am only satisfied, when you call it "Brezel" instead of "Bretzel" :D

[@shift-happens]

@@ichbin1984 I agree! And: I see what you did there ;)

[@LaceNWhisky]

Adam your segues into your ad reads are a master class.

[@caraouellette8605]

Hey adam, Was that pH meter worth it in your estimation? I'm doing ferments where the ph is important and wondering if i should invest

[@jasonreed7522]

The most accurate way to measure PH is to get a titration kit, but they require you to do some amount of work and math vs a meter or test strip you just dunk into the fluid in question and observe the reading.

[@VanillaPutin]

Hands down, this man has got the cleanest ad-segway out there

[@jbacken]

Man I wanna boil some baking soda, not just to make pretzels but also to make pretzels

[@rumorcontrol7873]

I've made pretzels for a number of year and found small twists of the dough to be fantastic

[@kellen987]

This isn’t related to the main content, but I bought a helix because of Adam and I’ve been on the road for a month away from my mattress and that is legitimately the biggest reason I want to go home. Helix mattresses are legit

[@inf0phreak]

A small warning: Aluminium (what the Americans would call "aluminum") and its oxide are amphoteric, i.e. they react both with acids and bases. Being filled with hot liquid at a pH over 11 might not be great for your cookware.

[@w3therby]

I have a similar recipe that I use that just boils the pretzels in straight baking soda water. Granted, I'm not German, but I've gotten nothing but compliments from friends and family so I might stick to that in the future!

[@Jansforreal]

Please, please, please, for the love of God, you HAVE to make Butterbretzel out of this. It's a very traditional way of eating pretzel in Germany. Just halve the pretzel and slather on a fat amount of butter. It's incredibly good. Try it and you won't miss the crazy americanized versions with sprinkles, ice cream and bacon

[@hivede6535]

If you spray it with water after half through the backing process it has a even better crust. Good Video.