Recipe // Laugen Rolls & Pretzels (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in laugen buns? ›

WHEAT flour, water, rapeseed oil, yeast, fermented WHEAT flour, salt, malt flour (WHEAT), gluten (WHEAT), acidity regulator (sodium hydroxide), flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid). May contain traces of: soya, milk.

Malt Syrup (the kind used for beer) and dipping them in a hot alkaline solution (baking soda or food grade lye and hot water) after baking for about 20–30 seconds gives a pretzel its characteristic flavor and distinctive brown coloring. The alkaline solution is a big contributor to the pretzel flavor.

Lye has a pH of around 13 whereas baking soda has a pH of around 8. This extra alkalinity accelerates the Maillard reaction, allowing that caramelization to develop on the exterior of the pretzels. That ultra deep color and slightly crispy, crunchy exterior crust is only made possible with lye.

The pretzel, known as "Brezel" in German, is a type of baked bread product that is typically twisted into a distinctive knot-like shape.

Bread Backed with Lye

What Americans see as pretzel bread is called Laugen, this is the bread type. In English the word Laugen is Lye, which is a very basic solution (as opposed to acid) often used in soap.

Lye is primarily used to make pretzels, and it's the reason for their unmistakable shiny, mahogany color. To prepare, shaped pretzels are dipped in a lye bath, then baked in the oven. This method can also be used with rolls or buns.

Soft pretzels can usually be baked in 15 minutes; hard pretzels, meanwhile, must be baked for up to an hour. The longer baking time further dries out the pretzel. And, as we have discussed, the lack of moisture is what gives the hard pretzel its brittle texture.

Traditional Bavarian pretzels are dipped in a lye solution before they are baked. Lye, also known as sodium hydroxide, is essentially the same stuff that's used to make soap and clean drains. It can even dissolve glass.

Soft pretzels are just a yeast bread is that formed into a pretzel shape. The one big difference in pretzel making, as opposed to a regular bread, is that pretzels are boiled and then baked. It is the boiling that gives the outside of the pretzel its beautiful golden brown color and uniquely crisp and chewy texture.

Well, the cheery ladies were very clear with me: they do NOT use lye. No sodium hydroxide/poison/caustic soda—none whatsoever—in their pretzels. (They do, however, dip their pretzels in a baking soda solution.)

What makes German pretzels so good? ›

The main difference to note between the more “American-style” pretzels and German pretzels is an ingredient called lye. Put simply, it's a “bath” pretzels soak in before the cooking is completed. Baking soda can be a substitute, however lye is the more “traditional” method.

The area roughly considered to constitute the Pretzel Belt, identified with Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Pennsylvania in general produces 80% of the pretzels consumed in the United States, with many of the top producers located in York County alone.

In Bavaria's world-famous beer gardens, pretzels are also enjoyed with obatzda, a strong, cheesy dip made with butter, hot paprika, and Camembert. Frankfurt is home to a milder, creamier version known as schneegestöber, also enjoyed with pretzels and glasses of sour flat apple cider named apfelwein.

Overall, the pretzel has a rich and complex history that reflects the many cultural and religious traditions that have shaped Europe over the centuries. Whether enjoyed as a simple snack or used as a symbol of love and good luck, the German pretzel remains a beloved and iconic part of German culture to this day.

The word, Brezel, is derived from the Latin word brachium, which means "arm". The crossed shape of the dough ends reminds us of human arms, crossed in the old style of prayer with the arms crossed across the chest. But the key to these soft German pretzels are that they are coated with lye – yup, caustic soda, or NaOH.

ENRICHED FLOUR, WHEAT, MALTED BARLEY, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID), WATER, SUGAR, YEAST, SOYBEAN OIL, WHEAT GLUTEN, SALT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: MONOGLYCERIDES, ASCORBIC ACID, ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THAMINE MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID), ...

Cream cheese– Softened and full fat. Eggs– Two eggs will be used in the dough and the other will be whisked and brushed on top of the buns, to create a shiny brown crust! Almond flour– You must use blanched almond flour, not almond meal. Baking powder– Gives the buns a little stability and structure.

Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough. Made with a mix of flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil, the bao is a tad sweeter than its closely related cousin, the dumpling.