The Easy Baking Soda Hack For Bakery-Worthy Pretzels Without Lye
Pretzels are the perfect handheld snack for perusing the mall, and they're the quintessential Oktoberfest food for a litany of reasons. If you can't get to Pennsylvania for some of the best pretzels in the United States, you can still make pretzels that could pass for a professional pastry right at home. Perhaps the most pivotal part of pretzel preparation is the bath. For many bakeries and ambitious home bakers, the secret lies in the lye. Lye –- formally called sodium hydroxide -– is an alkaline solution. Sodium hydroxide is highly corrosive and can lead to burns and severe eye damage. We can't lie — baking with lye can be a little intimidating and requires safety precautions, such as wearing protective gear to keep your skin and eyes safe.
While a typical baking soda bath won't give you the same golden finish and flavor that a lye bath will provide, there's a simple hack that will improve the taste and texture and prevent pale pretzels. For golden pretzels that look (and taste) like they should be decorating the glass display case of an established neighborhood bakery, start by baking your baking soda.
For browner, bolder pretzels, bake your baking soda
It's time to start baking baking soda. It might sound twisted, but that isn't a typo. Baking your baking soda will boost its performance and result in that rich color and tangy flavor you associate with the perfect pretzel.
You can simply bake baking soda in your oven in advance to have on hand the next time a hankering hits for fresh pretzels. The key is to bake it low (around 250 degrees Fahrenheit) and slow (for around one hour). Follow your go-to recipe, simply substituting the baked baking soda for basic baking soda after shaping the pretzels and before baking them to ensure your pretzels have that trademark golden hue, irresistible chew, and classic flavor. Baking your baking soda strengthens the alkali into a substance that more closely resembles lye, and it forms a magic ingredient that can improve your pretzels.