In article m>,
attributions went bad.
|> Karl Sigerist Sr=A9 wrote:
|>
|> Thanks a million Hans, that helps already a lot. Suddenly I remembered th=
|> e
|> old saying when all else fails ask the experts=20
|> I will go and look for that Prairie Chief Montana with Pillsbury A/P 50/5=
|> 0.
snip


|> Sincerly,
|>
|> C=3D=A6-)=A7 H. W. Hans Kuntze, CMC, S.g.K. (_o_)
|> http://www.cmcchef.com ,
|> "Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it Happened"
|> _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/=20
|>

I found this old post laying around my files here.

Article: 1536 of rec.food.recipes

From: (Steven Schmid)
Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes
Subject: LACTO: Schmid's German Beer Pretzels
Summary: orig. subject: Karl Schmid's German Beer Pretzels

Date: 9 Jan 92 17:25:36 GMT


Until recently, my father owned and operated a German bakery in Chicago which
did a very good business supplying restaurants and delicatessens with these
pretzels. Well, he just retired, which means I can post the recipe for the
enjoyment of thousands. Sorry, but all of the measures are in terms of
weights, not volumes like we usually see on the net.

Dough: (makes 5 dozen)

1 oz salt
1 oz sugar
1 oz shortening
2 oz yeast
4 lbs flour
1 quart milk (or use water w/ 4 oz milk powder)

Lye Dip:

6 oz caustic soda (this is sodium hydroxide otherwise known as lye -- del)
1 gallon water

You will also need pretzel salt.

Oven: 400 degrees F

Directions:

Prepare the dough by first disolving the yeast in the milk/water. Mix
in the other ingredients, gradually adding the flour until you obtain
a good stiff dough. Divide the dough into increments and form them
into pretzels as follows. Given a stick of dough, about 1/2 in in
diameter and 8 inches long, roll the stick starting from the middle and
working outwards, so that the stick ends up tapered towards the ends.
Keep rolling, starting over in the middle whenever necessary, until
the piece is about two feet long. Tie a pretzel knot, squeezing the
ends very tightly. Place on a lightly floured towel in a warm place so
that the dough can rise. We used dedicated boards at Schmid's bakery
because we made so many pretzels each day. Keep making the pretzels.
When finished, allow the pretzels to rise until they are about the size
you desire, usually less than one-half hour. Transfer the pretzels to
a cold place in your work area, possibly a refrigerator, although
opening a window and using a fan should work well. After about ten
minutes of exposure, you will notice that the pretzels have a
noticeable 'skin'. They are now ready for dipping and baking.

Put on latex gloves - caustic soda is dangerous stuff - and eye goggles
as well. Dip the pretzels in the caustic soda (see below) and place
them on a hot baking pan. Sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake in the 400
degree oven until the pretzels are golden brown - around 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Caustic Soda mix:

Put one gallon of cold water in a large plastic bucket. slowly add six
ounces of caustic soda, stirring constantly. You will want to wear
plastic gloves and glasses whenever handling this stuff. It stores
well (actually it stores forever).

Notes:
1. Don't be scared of dipping the pretzels in the caustic soda.
Yes, it's poisonous, but the baking eliminates the trouble, and it
gives the pretzels the great taste and texture of authentic German pretzels.

2. Some 'soft' pretzel manufacturers use baking soda dips instead of
the caustic soda. While we Schmids thought such practices as
nonsense, we appreciated other bakers doing this, since our pretzel
business was never threatened by them.

3. My father has retired, and I am now in possession of a lot of his
recipes. Unfortunately, most of them start with the statement "use 50
pounds of flour ...." Should I bother posting these? Can people
figure out how to reduce the recipes? My dad owned an authentic German
bakery for over forty years and he really knew his stuff.

4. The hidden trick to this recipe is having a really hot oven. The
lye dip should sizzle as the pretzels are put on the baking surface.
We had a large oven that wouldn't cool off much as we were putting the
pretzels in, kind of like a pizza oven you see at restaurants, only
bigger.



--

Del Cecchi

Personal Opinions Only