Welcome to Day 2 of Soft Pretzel Week! Thanks for all your post suggestions…I’ll be adding a step-by-step tutorial on making pretzels, along with a few more pretzel recipes, a savory dip and a sweet dip to this week’s line-up.
But first, some Brain Food for you all.
When I posted my traditional homemade pretzels, quite a few people asked me why I boiled the pretzels in baking soda + water before baking them. Was it really worth the extra time and effort, they asked?
My answer: a resounding YES. Definitely worth it!
I mean, just look at the differences:
The pretzel in the front wasn’t boiled in baking soda. See how flat and sadly pale it is?
This one was boiled before baking. Look how beautiful the dark crust is, complete with “crackling” on the surface!
The reasoning for this is really two-fold.
First, the boiling. Dropping each pretzel into boiling water for about 30 seconds makes the interior of the pretzel quickly “puff” and begins the crust formation. If you don’t boil, you’ll lose out on the chewiness you’d expect from a pretzel…and that would just be sad, now wouldn’t it?
The other reason it is worth it? The baking soda.
The baking soda is what gives the pretzels their brown and shiny crust and their distinctive flavor.
Remember the acid-base scale from back in your chemistry classes?
Well, water alone is typically pretty neutral. But when you add baking soda? It moves way over to the alkaline or basic side of the scale.
And when this happens, the browning reactions that makes a soft pretzel a soft pretzel can happen more rapidly.
So yes, you can skip the “boiling in water + baking soda” step. But beware: if you do, you’ll lose out on the texture, flavor and appearance of the pretzel. So it won’t really be a soft pretzel.
Boiled on the left, unboiled on the right.
Alternatively, you can dip the pretzels in lye before baking them. But that requires rubber gloves and safety goggles, so…. I choose baking soda.
Previous soft pretzel posts, in case you missed them:
Have any suggestions for future Brain Food posts or themed weeks? I’d love your input here or at my Facebook page!
I have always wondered this!! Thank you for answering the question. And it usually is the reason I haven’t made soft pretzels yet, but now I know to never skip it.
When I worked at Auntie Anne’s we just dipped them in water and baking soda instead of boiling them.. I wonder if your recipe would work by doing that?
Hmm…someone else left that comment below too! I like boiling instead of dipping because it does get the pretzel to puff up and rise really quickly. What state were the pretzels in before you dipping them (frozen, had time to rise, etc)?
We made the dough with a mixer (it was prepackaged and we added yeast and water).. then we let it rise on top of the hot ovens (I forget for how long).. then it sat on the counter and we were ready to roll! Soo pretty “fresh” for a quick-serving food place.
We did the same. The water was really hot as I remember it. We constantly changed the water so that it was as hot as we could stand to touch and dip. It also helped because we had to pinch the “joints” while dipping so they didnt’ fall apart.
Auntie Anne’s Soft pretzels are thinner than yours are so the time for cooking might be different.
Mmmmmm science and baked goods. Two of my favorite things.
I’d love to see a post on how different sweetners (honey, sugar, brown sugar, etc) result in different qualities in baked goods.
Ooo, that’s a good one!
science class and pretzel making all in one post…love it
I have to put my food science/engineering major to good use somehow
I love the science behind this – so informative.
before seeing your last post, i had no idea pretzels were boiled before baking. thanks for the lesson!
That’s what I’m here for
How interesting!
I did wonder why they were boiled in baking soda, makes perfect sense now. You even make this sound really easy, I might just have to attempt to make some myself…
Let me know how it goes/if you have any questions!
I’ve been waiting for this post
The interesting thing is, my recipe for Peter Reinhart’s soft pretzels doesn’t tell you to boil them – just to dunk them in the warm water/baking soda solution. And mine turned out fine that way. At any rate, I’ll have to try the boiling method!
Interesting! Did you have to let the pretzels rise after you shaped them?
Nope! And they had that chew I love in pretzels. I still am going to try the boiling method out of curiosity
Huh. That’s interesting. I’d love to see a comparison!
Want to do a guest Brain Food 101 post comparing the 2?
That would be fun!
love the science behind this! (also – so glad i didn’t miss this step when i made mine!!)
yes, the baking soda makes all the difference!
Hrmm, I am going to try just dipping them in the water/BS solution next time. I think I boiled them too long, they have a funny almost eggy taste.
Oh no! The boiling is very VERY brief. Dipping may work–but the solution should be hot when you do it so that the soda is dissolved!
That’s so true! Not only was I feeling like a stereotypical male who can’t do anything in the kitchen, but it was a total flop. It tasted eggy, the thing (it doesn’t pass of as a pretzel, seriously. My wife thought it was (insert crude remark)! I’m glad you had that problem. Now we’re in the same boat!
I boiled it for 30 seconds, and it still tasted weird…What’s the problem there?
Hmm…how long did you bake it for afterwards? And what recipe are you using?
Can I boil them the day (or hours) beforehand? We are having a party and want that just out of the oven warmth, but don’t want boil during the party.
Lisa — you can boil and partially bake them, then freeze them until party time! Details are here: http://www.savvyeat.com/brain-food-101-freezing-soft-pretzels/