The pretzels are made soft and slippery by the lye, and they are then difficult to put in a nice pretzel shape on the baking tray. The diluted lye is no longer corrosive after baking and the finished pretzels can be eaten without hesitation. The pretzel lye is corrosive, especially undiluted, and the safety precautions on the package should be strictly adhered to! (For example, use protective gloves and keep children safe). So, for example 50 ml of lye to 500 ml of water. I buy the lye in a mill shop, which calls it 'Brezellauge ', has a concentration of 36% NaOH, and must be diluted 1:10 with water. The lye solution (E524 sodium hydroxide solution) can be obtained from the pharmacy or from a friendly baker who will provide you with some lye.

You can also use dissolved baking soda instead of lye (for example, Kaiser Natron), but then the pretzels remain quite pale during baking and they do not taste that good for long. This recipe uses real lye, just like the bakers do. The pretzels are dipped in caustic soda before baking, which gives them their beautiful color and taste. You can also make the pretzels very easily yourself.

The thin little arms get crispy while baking, and the thicker belly stays moist and fluffy. Pretzels with pretzel lye like the bakers themselves makeĬalories per pretzel pretzel about 225 cal

Kaiser natron btl.pulver