The Brezel is the emblem of the bakeries of southern Germany, hung in gilded metal over their doors, and the soft lye pretzel is the everyday version: fat in the middle, crisp at the thin arms, its skin deep mahogany and faintly tangy. In Swabia and Baden, the country around Hockenheim, it is breakfast split and buttered, a snack at any hour, and the standard companion of beer gardens and grandstands.

Bakeries dip them in a weak lye solution, which gives the color and the flavor. Lye is caustic and best left to professionals, so home cooks use a bath of baking soda in boiling water. The result is a little paler but every bit as satisfying, and the shaping, a single twist and fold, takes about three attempts to master and one more to show off.

The dough

Ingredients

• 4 cups (500 g) all purpose or bread flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons fine salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) warm water
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm whole milk
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter

Shaping

Ingredients

Bath and bake

Ingredients

• 8 cups (2 liters) water
• 1/2 cup (110 g) baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pretzel salt or coarse sea salt

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