Pretzels, Medieval Style

If you ask about any German what’s their best recipe for making pretzels at home, they would look at you as if you were from outer space and say, “I never BAKE them myself, I BUY them!” And that makes sense: every bakery here in Germany has delicious fresh pretzels all day round. It’s like Finns and the Carelian pasties – why bother baking them yourself when you can buy them everywhere?

But here’s the thing: in four months or so, I’ll be living in a country where the only pretzels to be found are sold at Lidl (and from what I’ve heard, they come directly from… China! Please let this be an urban legend!!), or at some exclusive bakery at a ridiculous price. So I thought, it’s time I learn to bake my own.

The first pretzels are said to be baked in 610 AD (according to Wikipedia). Back then, there was no white flour nor commercial yeast available, so I thought it would make sense to try with 100% whole-grain and sourdough starter. I added just a little bit of yeast to speed up the fermentation – but maybe this wouldn’t be even necessary. As a base for my recipe, I used this one from Plötzlblog. But as you can see, mine is quite different…

The problem for us home-bakers is that in bakeries pretzels are immersed into lye solution before being baked in the oven. Now I’m not a big fan of such dangerous experiments in a kitchen - especially with young kids around. But luckily, there’s another way: to use a baking soda soak instead. And hurray, it works! My first result didn’t convince the kids yet (“MUM!!! Go to the bakery and get some REAL ones!”), but the second attempt did. So I’m more than happy to share this recipe with you!

For 6 pretzels you need:

• 140g sourdough starter


• 170ml water


• 300g whole-grain wheat flour


• 0,5g dry yeast


• 10g gluten (for a chewier texture)


• 6g salt


• 10g sugar


• 20g butter (or vegan margarine)

For the soak:

• 3 Tbsp baking soda


• 1 liter water

To garnish:

• 2 tsp or so pretzel salt

Combine all ingredients in a baking bowl and knead the dough for about 15 minutes (I do it by hand, you can use a kitchen machine if you have one), until nice and firm. If you notice that there’s too little water, add some more, but not too much: this dough should be firm, a bit like chewing gum ;)

Let the dough ferment in a warmish place about 30 minutes. Then knead again for 1-2 minutes, divide the dough into 6 equal-sized parts (mine were about 110g each) and wait a few minutes before working them into long thin sticks that are thicker in the middle. If the consistency of your dough is right, you don’t even need flour on the working surface. When all are done, shape them into pretzels. Mine started to look more or less ok after the fourth one or so…!

Place your pretzels on a baking tray covered with a baking sheet. Cover with a cling film and a place in a cool place (fridge, cellar, balcony) – about 7-10 degrees would be ideal. Let ferment over night. (For a quicker fermentation, let ferment in room temperature for 4-5 hours.)

In the morning, set your oven to 225 C. Bring 1 liter of water to the boil. Add the baking soda – it frizzles a lot at first! Then soak your pretzels one by one in the boiling soda soak, about 30 seconds each. Place the soaked ones on the baking tray. When all are done, use a razor blade to make a long cut in the middle of the thick part, sprinkle salt on your pretzels, and bake them in the oven until beautifully brown, or about 15-20 minutes.

Serve with butter and coffee – or beer, depending on what time of the day it is!