91 replies to this topic

[Trub L]

I use silpat or other baking mat for pretzels and have never had a sticking issue.

[Trub L]

I am going to go ahead and disagree, or my technique is different on the before oven. I do have the actual oxygenated pretzel salt. A proper street or fair pretzel, you can flick the salt kernels off. Not that there is ever enough salt on them to do this....but you even have to be careful how you handle it in the parchment. The salt can sprinkle off.

The prebake application sets the salt for sure so it won't fall off, but it becomes part of the crust, if you will. It clarifies the salt crystal, and I suppose you could scrape it off with a butter knife.

Post bake is where it's at. Stain is money with the water spritz. I am lazy and just keep the water faucet in slim stream....and wet a finger. Then salt right behind that with the other hand. The best reheated pretzel I've ever had was when I bushed it with butter post bake and then sprinkled.

I'm pretty sure that what you're describing is how one applies salt to a "Super Pretzel" per instructions. That takes me back lol. I'll have to check which kind of pretzel salt we stock, because it works really well pre-bake without all that extra screwing around with spritzing and rubbing and such.

[AspenLeif]

No. It's more about how Einsteins bagels fucks up their salt bagle. Salt on too early, you're not showcasing the best part of what you've just made. Or being smart about the name on the door of your business for doing it that way.
But post bake butter brush? You know it to be true.

[Trub L]

I used to do post bake with a butter brush for this old "mall pretzel" recipe I liked. That was when I only used coarse kosher salt, so yeah, they would look like Einstein's bagels if i actually put it on before baking. Now that we keep proper pretzel salt around, I can sprinkle it on before baking, don't require any sort of butter or water adhesives, don't need to mess with them right out of the oven, and they come out with nice individual white salt crystals just like you see on TV.

[Alan Thicker]

I’m going with corse kosher salt my first time out of the gate

[BrewDaddy]

Learned the hard way years ago.. definitely use the glass container for the lye. I mistakenly used an anodized aluminum pot and it etchet the surface enough to remove most of the anodizing

[Trub L]

I’m going with corse kosher salt my first time out of the gate

Buy pretzel salt. Amazon is your friend.

[Genesee Ted]

No pics?

[Stains_not_here_man]

I'm making a batch now, using some nice nutty Ghee in place of the butter. I'll take pics

[Lee in Texas]

Disregard

Edited by Lee in Texas, 11 May 2019 - 09:30 PM.

[Trub L]

I'm making a batch now, using some nice nutty Ghee in place of the butter. I'll take pics

I would think the milk solids would help with a nice soft texture. What would you expect ghee to help? Or were you just out of butter?

Edited by Trub L, 16 May 2019 - 03:51 AM.

[Stains_not_here_man]

Flavor.

[Trub L]

Ghee removes flavor relative to unclarified butter.

[Stains_not_here_man]

Did you not read where I said it was extra nutty ghee? Now I suppose you will call me out for not calling it browned butter. Go troll the hot spot.

Edited by the_stain, 20 May 2019 - 10:14 AM.

[Trub L]

Lol. So you're super sensitive over here too, eh?

[Big Nake]

No pics?

Was thinking the same thing.  Three pages and all these pretzel bakers and *NO* pics? 

[HVB]

No pics?

So did this recipe today and only change was I used 1tsp of diastatic malt powder. Family approved!

[Stains_not_here_man]

I just made these with 1.5x the melted butter, and a 1.5% lye solution. Mmm. Better.

[HVB]

I just made these with 1.5x the melted butter, and a 1.5% lye solution. Mmm. Better.

 

What did the lower lye % bring to the table?  I plan to make pretzels this week but sub out some of the bread flour with one cup of rye flour.

[Stains_not_here_man]

The lower lye % didn't make a huge difference other than saving lye, but they did seem a little less dark and a little more golden brown.