Breads Bavarian "Brezen" (Pretzels)

[Marek07]

I can't stop. Someone please come and help me!
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I'd be happy to come and help... consume them!
If only Queensland would allow Victorians into their state.

 

[M1k3]

I can't stop. Someone please come and help me!
View attachment 86043

Do you do Postmates? How well do they keep for a month and a half?

 

[Michi]

If only Queensland would allow Victorians into their state.

Naw, we don't want any of that southern rabble up here

Do you do Postmates? How well do they keep for a month and a half?

In the freezer, extremely well; with UPS for a month and a half, probably not so well

I usually vacuum-pack the excess (very light vacuum, so they don't get squished) and freeze them. They bake up very well from frozen, in about 15 minutes in a moderate oven.

 

[Michi]

Turkish Lahmacun

 

[lowercasebill]

Middle eastern pizza minus the cheese??

 

[Michi]

Middle eastern pizza minus the cheese??

In essence, yes. The topping is a mixture of about half and half of lamb mince and finely blended vegetables: onion, bell peppers, tomatoes, chilli, garlic, parsley. The vegetables are drained until the remaining solids are a thick mud, fairly dry. Add a bunch of spices (salt, pepper, sumac, oregano, thyme, hot paprika), mix together, spread on an oily high-hydration yeast dough, and bake like a pizza.

 

[Michi]

Oops, wrong thread, I meant to post this in "What's Cooking…"

 

[Ploppy Blobby]

For the starter dough:

• 70 g all-purpose flour

Hi, would strong white flour do as well? Bought a 25kg sack am trying to bake thru :0

 

[Michi]

Hi, would strong white flour do as well? Bought a 25kg sack am trying to bake thru :0

I've never tried. But I suspect that nothing terrible would happen. Why not just give it a try?

 

[Ploppy Blobby]

nothing terrible would happen

Um, you sure

 

[Michi]

Fresh specimens

 

[Jovidah]

Not to be overly pedantic, but isn't it normally spelled Bretzl, bretzel or brezel? (with an extra N behind for the plural)? Think I've seen those 3 mostly. Or is that another one of those regional dialect things?
I'm blessed in that I live a stonethrow away from the border... I can literally buy these for like 30 cents a piece in German supermarkets. Must have eaten a thousand or so of them on the many vacations we had in Germany when I was young. Surprisingly nice for how cheap and simple they are.
I'm genuinely amazed they aren't more common around the world; not even in the Netherlands can you buy them. What's sold as those tiny little pretzls around the world has little to do with actual proper bretzln.

If you ever want to make something slightly different, try the simpler laugenstange (lye stick), or laugenbrotchen (lye roll). First one is basically the same dough & treatment but in just a simple stick (like a tiny 20 cm minibaguette), while the second is a simple bun. They're easier to butter (if that's your thing) or turn into awesome sandwiches.

A more recent thing - and best bakery invention EVER - is a laugenecke (lye 'corner' / triangle). Basically the love child of a laugenbrotchen and a croissant. That, with some nice Spanish ham, is godlike. Probably a pain in the ass to make though.

Laugenecke:
https://www.ploetzblog.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/20190810_35.jpg

 

[Jovidah]

By the way, yours really do look like the genuine article. Wouldn't be able to distinguish it from a real German one. Very well done. Could never see myself putting in that much effort; would be faster to drive to the store to buy them.

 

[Michi]

Not to be overly pedantic, but isn't it normally spelled Bretzl, bretzel or brezel? (with an extra N behind for the plural)? Think I've seen those 3 mostly. Or is that another one of those regional dialect things?

It's a regional dialect thing

In Bavaria, it's "Breze" (singular) and "Brezen" (plural). However, "Brezen" can also be used for the singular, as in "I hob Hunga auf a Brezen"

If you ever want to make something slightly different, try the simpler laugenstange (lye stick), or laugenbrotchen (lye roll). First one is basically the same dough & treatment but in just a simple stick (like a tiny 20 cm minibaguette), while the second is a simple bun. They're easier to butter (if that's your thing) or turn into awesome sandwiches.

Yes, they are easier to make and work better as a sandwich/roll. But the surface-to-volume ratio is different. There is much less surface area, so the lye taste is diminished.

A more recent thing - and best bakery invention EVER - is a laugenecke (lye 'corner' / triangle). Basically the love child of a laugenbrotchen and a croissant. That, with some nice Spanish ham, is godlike. Probably a pain in the ass to make though.

That one is new to me, thanks! I'll be doing some research on that…

 

[Michi]

By the way, yours really do look like the genuine article. Wouldn't be able to distinguish it from a real German one. Very well done.

Thank you! Personally, I think that if I snuck those into the tray of any bakery in Munich, no-one would be the wiser.

Could never see myself putting in that much effort; would be faster to drive to the store to buy them.

Not if you live in Australia, it isn't

 

[Dominick Maone]

I make mine with baking soda with recipe from the below site. They come out great but I ALWAYS forget to salt them before baking. I might have to give this recipe a try. When I visit Germany It is hard for me not to eat currywurst every meal. Need to get back as soon as I am allowed and check these out. Aldi’s sell pretzels for like 10 euro cents. Hard to beat. Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels + Video | Sally's Baking Addiction

 

[RonB]

I used your recipe yesterday and they tasted great. I made logs instead of pretzel shapes so they would take up less space and be easier to freeze/store. They did stick to the parchment, bit I managed to free them. My wife requested cinnamon on some, so I did four that way for her. And I need to watch my sodium intake, so not much salt...

Thanks for the recipe.

 

[Michi]

I used your recipe yesterday and they tasted great.

Looking good! These are known as "Laugenstangen" in Germany

 

[Jovidah]

For a second there I thought they were worstenbroodjes instead (somethign completely different)...
If you want them to look the part slice the top a few times like with baguettes. Probably doesn't make one iota of difference in flavor, but it's how you always see them in Germany. Probably have to cut them after the lye to get the color contrast.

If you have to watch the sodium intake you could consider using diet salt (also sold as pansalt; basically a mix of potassium and sodium). Not sure what it'd do for flavor but you'll be able to get salty without the sodium.

BTW another advantage of laugenstange over bretzeln is that they're much easier to slice in half. Normally laugenstange and bretzeln are eaten either as is, or just with butter, but I see no reason you couldn't use them as the most awesome basis for a sandwich ever.
Main thing you're missing out on making laugenstange vs bretzeln is the texture differences you get in a bretzel; normally the center parts are thinner making them harder / crispier while the outer ring is a bit thicker and softer.

 

[RonB]

For a second there I thought they were worstenbroodjes instead (somethign completely different)...
If you want them to look the part slice the top a few times like with baguettes. Probably doesn't make one iota of difference in flavor, but it's how you always see them in Germany. Probably have to cut them after the lye to get the color contrast.

If you have to watch the sodium intake you could consider using diet salt (also sold as pansalt; basically a mix of potassium and sodium). Not sure what it'd do for flavor but you'll be able to get salty without the sodium.

BTW another advantage of laugenstange over bretzeln is that they're much easier to slice in half. Normally laugenstange and bretzeln are eaten either as is, or just with butter, but I see no reason you couldn't use them as the most awesome basis for a sandwich ever.
Main thing you're missing out on making laugenstange vs bretzeln is the texture differences you get in a bretzel; normally the center parts are thinner making them harder / crispier while the outer ring is a bit thicker and softer.

Thanx - I was thinking that I should have shaped a couple rolls for hamburgers, but didn't get the thought until it was too late.

 

[knifeknight]

I make mine with baking soda with recipe from the below site.

Baking Soda is not enough for a really rich colour. Try to get your hands on something called "Kaiser Natron" (s. pic.) Dissolve one or two packs (there are several in the box) in 2-3 litres of water, heat it just before boiling and put the raw pretzels in this hot lye für about 30 sec. Let them cool on a baking tray for about 20 minutes, salt them and put them in the oven after that.

 

[Jovidah]

That's an existing thing too... called laugenbrötchen. Used as any other normal bread roll. Would probably be extremely good with hamburgers... or anything else hearty/salty. I never tried but I don't expect it to be particularly good with sweet stuff.

 

[knifeknight]

But it is. I‘m living in the south west of Germany (Baden) near the french and the suisse border. It‘s absolutely usual to eat „Laugengebäck“ (pretzels & rolls) for breakfast - esp. with marmalade, Nutella etc.

 

[Michi]

Baking Soda is not enough for a really rich colour. Try to get your hands on something called "Kaiser Natron" (s. pic.)

"Kaiser Natron" is just a trade name for baking soda. The two are the same substance, sodium hydrogen carbonate, also known as sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃).

You can make Brezen with baking soda, but the result will not be the real thing. See the first post in this thread.

 

[Jovidah]

But it is. I‘m living in the south west of Germany (Baden) near the french and the suisse border. It‘s absolutely usual to eat „Laugengebäck“ (pretzels & rolls) for breakfast - esp. with marmalade, Nutella etc.

Interesting... I'll try it it next time I get them... if I can stop myself from just stuffing them in my face in the car on the way back like usual.
Maybe it's just my own little weirdness.. I never understood the whole fuss about croissants with jam either but seems like Frenchies swear by it. I always favored combining saltier and buttier bread stuff with other saltier stuff.

 

[knifeknight]

"Kaiser Natron" is just a trade name for baking soda. The two are the same substance, sodium hydrogen carbonate, also known as sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃).

I know what Soda is.

In most of western Europe „Baking soda“ (aka „Backpulver“) is not the real stuff but a mixture of soda with other substances (citrus acid, starch etc.). Natron is pure soda (sodium bicarbonate).

It doesn‘t work with the former.

 

[Michi]

In most of western Europe „Baking soda“ (aka „Backpulver“) is not the real stuff but a mixture of soda with other substances (citrus acid, starch etc.). Natron is pure soda (sodium bicarbonate).

It doesn‘t work with the former.

Ah, I see. When you buy "baking soda" in Australia, it's sodium bicarbonate. The other stuff is sold as "baking powder", which also contains rice flour and phosphate.

But, as I mentioned in the original post, baking soda doesn't quite produce the real thing. To get the proper taste and texture, lye is needed.

 

[MarcelNL]

there is:
baking soda: NaHCO3
soda: NaHCO3 >> Kaiser Natron
caustic soda: NaOH

And the pH increases going down the list, from what I understand about Laugen Brezen we need NaOH to make them, am I right Michi?

(I have secretly wanted to make Brezen for while yet I was put off by using Natron Lauge pur, but was expecting to visit Munich again real soon anyway, so why bother...now with no travel at all I am circling back to making them...)

 

[Rangen]

Thank you for this! I don't eat carbs much, but that means I want every one to count, and this sort of pretzel is top of list. I can't wait to try this recipe.

I still get to eat Weisswurst and Leberkaese, which I do often. I found a place in Wisconsin that supplies excellent authentic versions of both.

 

[Rangen]

Wait, rye malt syrup? How does one find that? The barley version seems common, will that do?