Conference turris::cooks

    It's a LOT of fun! I use the recipe in Joy of Cooking, which is
    a very simple recipe. Shaping the pretzels can be quite theraputic.
    Kids love making them, choosing whatever shapes they like. Faces
    come out well, as do flowers and the standard pretzel twists. 
    Adults sometimes like to let their creativity produce, um, pretzels
    that you'd not see in your standard bakery ;-) as well as various
    macrame creations and such. The shape doesn't have anything to
    do with the flavor. 
    
    I like to stock up on various types of mustard... it's fun to have
    a selection of dips to try. Also, for flavor, you can add seeds
    or chopped fried onions to pretzels, or make them with the addition
    of wheat germ.
    
    -Louise

    
    	Could someone please post a recipe for these pretzels. Sounds like
    	a fun cooking project to try sometime. 
    
    	Thanks,
    
    	Dina

	See note 2199 for a conversation about soft pretzels.

	Cara

    Note 2199 does not give a recipe.
    
    I would be interested in a recipe too (I do not have Joy of Cooking).
    
    Thanks!
    
    

    I'd like to second that motion...
    
    ........please post a recipe..........  

I saved this entry from a usenet posting but I have not tried the recipe.  Note 
that I DO NOT ADVISE USING THE CAUSTIC SODA DIP MENTIONED.  The result may be 
safe when baked, but doing the dipping and having this around the house is not
something you should try unless you know what you are doing.  In particular, disposing
of the left over solution should be treated as a hazardous waste issue.  

I believe that your can skip this step or substitute baking soda as suggested in the 
notes below.

Enjoy  :-)

  

From: [email protected] (Steven Schmid)
Subject: Karl Schmid's German Beer Pretzels

Until recently,  my father owned and operated a German bakery in Chicago which
did a very good business supplying restaurants and delicatessens with these
pretzels.  Well,  he just retired,  which means I can post the recipe for the
enjoyment of thousands.  Sorry,  but all of the measures are in terms of
weights,  not volumes like we usually see on the net.

Dough: (makes 5 dozen)

1 oz salt
1 oz sugar
1 oz shortening
2 oz yeast
4 lbs flour
1 quart milk (or use water w/ 4 oz milk powder)

Lye Dip:

6 oz caustic soda
1 gallon water

You will also need pretzel salt.

Oven:  400 degrees F

Directions:

Prepare the dough by first disolving the yeast in the milk/water.  Mix in the
other ingredients,  gradually adding the flour until you obtain a good stiff
dough.  Divide the dough into increments and form them into pretzels as
follows.  Given a stick of dough,  about 1/2 in in diameter and 8 inches long,
 roll the stick starting from the middle and working outwards,  so that the
stick ends up tapered towards the ends.  Keep rolling,  starting over in the
middle whenever necessary,  until the piece is about two feet long.  Tie a
pretzel knot,  squeezing the ends very tightly.  Place on a lightly floured
towel in a warm place so that the dough can rise. We used dedicated boards at
Schmid's bakery because we made so many pretzels each day.  Keep making the 
pretzels.  When finished,  allow the pretzels to rise until they are about the
 size you desire,  usually less than one-half hour.  Transfer the pretzels to
a cold place in your work area,  possibly a refrigerator,  although opening a
window and using a fan should work well.  After about ten minutes of exposure,
 you will notice that the pretzels have a noticeable 'skin'.  They are now
ready for dipping and baking.  

Put on latex gloves - caustic soda is dangerous stuff - and eye goggles as
well.  Dip the pretzels in the caustic soda (see below) and place them on a hot
baking pan.  Sprinkle with pretzel salt.  Bake in the 400 degree oven until the
pretzels are golden brown - around 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

Caustic Soda mix:

Put one gallon of cold water in a large plastic bucket.  slowly add six ounces
of caustic soda,  stirring constantly.  You will want to wear plastic gloves
and glasses whenever handling this stuff.  It stores well (actually it stores
forever).

Notes:
1.   Don't be scared of dipping the pretzels in the caustic soda.  Yes,  it's
poisonous,  but the baking eliminates the trouble,  and it gives the pretzels
the great taste and texture of authentic German pretzels.
2.   Some 'soft' pretzel manufacturers use baking soda dips instead of the
caustic soda.  While we Schmids thought such practices as nonsense,  we
appreciated other bakers doing this,  since our pretzel business was never
threatened by them.
3.   My father has retired,  and I am now in possession of a lot of his
recipes.  Unfortunately,  most of them start with the statement "use 50 pounds
of flour ...."  Should I bother posting these?  Can people figure out how to
reduce the recipes?  My dad owned an authentic German bakery for over fourty
years and he really knew his stuff.

Disposing of caustic soda (aka lye, NaOH) is easy.  Just (carefully) mix it 
with enough vinegar and you get a perfectly harmless sodium acetate solution.

--PSW

�Disposing of caustic soda (aka lye, NaOH) is easy.  Just (carefully) mix it 
�with enough vinegar and you get a perfectly harmless sodium acetate solution.
    
    Or just pour it down the sink followed by plenty of water to dilute it. 
    It may even help clean out your drain (that's basically what drain
    cleaners are - lye).

    Does anyone have a recipe that comes close to "Auntie Annes" pretzels
    that can be had in most malls these days?  They are soft and buttery.
    I'm sure there very unhealthy but they sure taste great.
    Thanks,
    Larry

    I was wondering that also.  I actually asked them what the ingredients
    were in the dip that they use.   They do not give that information out
    because they do not want to be copied.   I mentioned to them that they
    should really have those ingredients listed for people who have
    allergies and they said they couldn't give out that information.   I
    mentioned to them that they could possibly lose customers that way and
    they said they couldn't give out that information. You would think that
    these companies would be aware of the potential law suits from people
    who have eaten some unknown ingredient in their recipe that they are
    allergic to.  
    
    I recall reading an article about a woman who ate some chili in a
    restaurant.    She had a severe reaction and died.  She was allergic to
    peanut butter and never thought that PB would be an ingredient in
    chili.  

>                     <<< Note 3527.10 by YIELD::STOOKER >>>

	How can anyone sue them if they refuse to give out the recipe
	but the person eats the stuff anyways?  The person is taking
	the responsibility on himself by eating it at that point, no?

    It comes down to the "reasonable person" tenet. If a reasonable person
    would believe there is nothing in the pretzel that they'd be allergic
    to, but there is, and the company selling the pretzel failed to
    disclose this, then they could be held liable. This, of course, would
    be a far easier case to prove for common allergens than uncommon ones.