Homemade Pretzels
Submitted in 1986 by Aunt Irene
comments by Michelle
3 pkg dry yeast (I used the fast-acting/rapid-rise yeast)
1 t sugar
1 C lukewarm water (120 degrees)
Dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. If your yeast when mixed with sugar and water bubbles, it is active and ready to go.
4 cups scalded milk (heated to 185 degrees)
½ c Spry (vegetable shortening)
1 bottle (12 oz) beer
1 T salt
5lbs Nightingale flour (this is a pastry flour found in Frankenmuth, or you can use 20 cups all purpose flour, take out 10 T, and add in 5 T Corn starch… sift it all together)
2-3 cups all purpose flour
Course Salt for sprinkling on top
Lye or baking soda water
Melt Spry in milk while warming. Add beer to hot milk, add flour and salt. When mixture is lukewarm, add yeast mixture. Knead last of flour in with hands. Turn on board and knead slightly. Once the dough is mixed, it can be immediately made into pretzels. Use a golf ball size (or slightly larger) ball of dough, roll it into a 12-14” strip, twist the ends around each other and secure to center of pretzel.
Drop shaped pretzels into lye (baking soda) water. (put 8 cups of water, and 3 T Baking Soda, if using lye, use 4 T to 2qt of water, and be careful!). Keep the water just under boiling. Pretzels will glaze and rise slightly when dipped. They will rise to the surface when ready. Remove on slotted spoon and place on well-greased pan.
Salt tops with coarse salt before baking.
Bake in oven 475-500 degrees until browned. (about 10-12 minutes, I use a stone, if you use metal pans, lower the cooking time)
Makes about 5 dozen medium sized pretzels.
I remember when Grandma Pretzer would come to visit and make pretzels. She would let Jeff and me help shape the pretzels. It would take me forever to make a few pretzels, and grandma shaped perfect pretzels with very little effort.
ReplyDeleteI must say, the perfect pretzels are hard to achieve without practice. But, the great thing, is that by the last pan of pretzels, I think they finally started looking good!
Last time I made these pretzels was with Grandma Pretzer, my mom and my brothers at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Christmas 2007. We struggled with getting the shape right. I like your extra twist in the middle, looks better than what we were trying to do. Grandpa, who has the final say, also said ours needed more salt.
ReplyDeletePaul even got involved in making the pretzels. We rolled some in cinnamon sugar and grandpa thought that was an abomination. They tasted good though.
ReplyDeleteAnd we made like 500 pretzels...
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of flour called for in the recipe. Anyone try reducing the recipe?
ReplyDeleteGreat looking pretzels!
ReplyDeleteAunt Irene's pretzel's were always the BEST!!!
ReplyDeleteKaren (Newton) Pringle