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National Pretzel Day


lancastermike

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I'll have to go to our Amish market and indulge in a warm, soft one. With yellow mustard.

I thought about making a batch but there's no pretzel salt to be found anywhere close to where I live. Regular coarse salt just isn't the same. It'll have to wait until I order some and whatever day that happens to be will be pretzel day.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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I thought about making a batch but there's no pretzel salt to be found anywhere close to where I live. Regular coarse salt just isn't the same. It'll have to wait until I order some and whatever day that happens to be will be pretzel day.

What is the secret to gettting a nice puffed up but crusty pretzel?

BTW, I had a great one last night. That's the fourth bar that I have been to in six months selling fresh baked pretzels.

They should ALL have them.

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I thought about making a batch but there's no pretzel salt to be found anywhere close to where I live. Regular coarse salt just isn't the same. It'll have to wait until I order some and whatever day that happens to be will be pretzel day.

What is the secret to gettting a nice puffed up but crusty pretzel?

BTW, I had a great one last night. That's the fourth bar that I have been to in six months selling fresh baked pretzels.

They should ALL have them.

Dunno that there's just one secret. Just follow the basics of bread making, scale your ingredients, scale the dough, bench rest fully, proof after final shaping, make sure your water bath has the correct ratio of additives, egg wash carefully and use the right salt.
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I thought about making a batch but there's no pretzel salt to be found anywhere close to where I live. Regular coarse salt just isn't the same. It'll have to wait until I order some and whatever day that happens to be will be pretzel day.

What is the secret to gettting a nice puffed up but crusty pretzel?

BTW, I had a great one last night. That's the fourth bar that I have been to in six months selling fresh baked pretzels.

They should ALL have them.

Dunno that there's just one secret. Just follow the basics of bread making, scale your ingredients, scale the dough, bench rest fully, proof after final shaping, make sure your water bath has the correct ratio of additives, egg wash carefully and use the right salt.
Don't pretzels (the soft ones) go through a treatment like a bagel with a water & soda boil first? I would love to experiment but fear I would consume way too many. I can get fresh ones at the the local German bakery that are quite good. On the more Ready to Eat level from packages I have a huge weakness for the chocolate or white covered ones.
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I thought about making a batch but there's no pretzel salt to be found anywhere close to where I live. Regular coarse salt just isn't the same. It'll have to wait until I order some and whatever day that happens to be will be pretzel day.

What is the secret to gettting a nice puffed up but crusty pretzel?

BTW, I had a great one last night. That's the fourth bar that I have been to in six months selling fresh baked pretzels.

They should ALL have them.

Dunno that there's just one secret. Just follow the basics of bread making, scale your ingredients, scale the dough, bench rest fully, proof after final shaping, make sure your water bath has the correct ratio of additives, egg wash carefully and use the right salt.
Don't pretzels (the soft ones) go through a treatment like a bagel with a water & soda boil first? I would love to experiment but fear I would consume way too many. I can get fresh ones at the the local German bakery that are quite good. On the more Ready to Eat level from packages I have a huge weakness for the chocolate or white covered ones.
Yeah I mentioned the water bath having the correct ratio of additives, I wasn't trying to give full instructions, just covering places where people commonly get into trouble. You dip after proofing. Different people add different things to the water, most commonly lye, ammonia or baking soda. There are good arguments for/against each.
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Butterscotch, the dough for the "bar pretzels" comes in frozen, and is baked in a little oven that the company provides. They're excellent!

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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All right, I had 3 pretzels Friday. Two from the Amish market decadent with pretzel salt and a butter dip served warm. Then a friend treated me to the Washington Nationals/Cincinnati Reds game Friday night. Had a ball park pretzel. Couldn't compete with the Amish market, but it was warm and less stale than I expected. Actually edible for going in with zero expectations. Downside? $4.75 to go with your $9 beer, taking full advantage of the captive audience.

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