Bretzels
Bretzels are salted breads in the shape of knots that can be found in Southern Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland and of course in Alsace. Their specificity lies in the fact that they are poached in boiling water before being baked.
I come from Alsace and bretzels remind me of my childhood. My grandmother often had them in the freezer and my parents often bought them for me at the bakery or at the Christmas market in Strasbourg. Since I came back to France, I sometimes buy them at the bakery. But lately, with the nice weather, I eat them with a beer as an aperitif, sitting on the banks of l’Ill (the river of Strasbourg). Basically, I know a lot about bretzels and I refuse to call American pretzels bretzels.
Last week I was not in Alsace and I missed the bretzels, so I decided to make some by myself and I warn you this recipe is HIGHLY addictive!
Accompany them with a beer (my choice: amber beer Doreleï, Fisher) and you’re all set.
Bretzels
Ingredients
- 500 gr Flour
- 10 gr Baking yeast
- 30 gr Butter
- 1.5 L Water
- 40 gr Baking soda
- 300 mL Milk
- Kosher salt
- 7 tsp Salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt (8 tsp), then add the yeast, butter and cold milk. Knead well until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers
- Let the dough rise covered with a cloth in a warm place for 1h30
- Boil water in a saucepan with salt (1 tsp) and bicarbonate. Meanwhile, roll out the dough on the table and cut it into 10 equal pieces
- Shape Bretzels and dip them one by one into boiling water, wait for them to rise and drain on paper towels
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Place pretzels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with kosher salt and make several cuts on each pretzel. Bake for 15 minutes
