Bretzel Alsacien
Soft, chewy pretzels shaped by hand, dipped briefly in a bicarbonate of soda bath and baked for 15 minutes until deep brown.
Photograph credit: Bretzel 03 by Arnaud 25 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Don't Make These Mistakes
Dip the pretzels for only 30 seconds.
Roll the ropes thin at the ends and thick in the middle.
Slash the thick part so it opens as it bakes.
Making Bretzel Alsacien
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Mix the flour, yeast and salt. Add the warm water and butter and knead for 8 minutes into a firm, smooth dough.
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Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled.
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Heat the oven to 220°C / 430°F and line two trays. Divide the dough into 8 and roll each into a rope about 60 cm long, thin at the ends and fat in the middle. Shape into pretzels.
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Bring the water and bicarbonate of soda to the boil in a wide pan. Lower in each pretzel for 30 seconds, lift out and drain.
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Place on the trays, slash the thick part and scatter with the coarse salt.
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Bake for 15 minutes until deep brown.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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What's Going On Here
Keep the bath short. A pretzel owes its dark, glossy crust and its chew to a quick dip in water with bicarbonate of soda, and the dip should last no more than 30 seconds. Any longer and the crust turns bitter and the surface goes slimy.
The dough is plain: flour, yeast, salt, water and a little butter. It should be smooth and firm, firmer than a loaf dough, so that it keeps its shape when rolled into long ropes. Knead for 8 minutes and rise for an hour. Roll each rope thin at the ends and thick in the middle, then cross the ends twice and press them to the belly of the pretzel. A fat middle gives the soft inside; thin arms give the crisp bits.
Lower each pretzel into the bubbling bath for 30 seconds, lift with a slotted spoon, and slash the thick part with a sharp knife so it opens as it bakes. Scatter with coarse salt and bake at 220°C / 430°F until deep mahogany. Eat them warm, with butter or mustard.
Storage and Reheating
Best eaten the day they are baked. Freeze for 1 month.
Serving Bretzel Alsacien
- Mustard
- Butter
- Beer
- Cold cuts
Questions and Answers
How long does Bretzel Alsacien take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour of Rising, so allow 1 hour 55 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
Bretzel Alsacien Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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