Reader Matthew chimes in with this key point: You’re missing one component in your discussion of why people use lye for pretzels. I learned this a few years ago when I compared several of the alternatives you mentioned against the lye-dipped pretzels. Only lye-dipped pretzels really taste like pretzels! It is a difficult flavor to […]
READ ONYou know we’re coming close to reaching the pinnacle of our civilization when even small local doughnuts shops are producing masterpieces like this: the maple bacon doughnut. I was given this artwork this morning and it was all I could do to contain myself long enough to take the picture. Crispy-sweet-salty-tender…oh mama, that’s the stuff.
READ ONJim C. of Chez Jim offers this article on the history of pretzels. For those of you who don’t (and I know I don’t), he offers this helpful summary: Hoefler says indeed that in old High German, the word meant bracelet and that it was eaten for Lent. He also suggests that it was linked […]
READ ONA few football fan readers who don’t keep bread starters at home have asked what suggestions I have for them with the Super Bowl fast approaching. The easy answer is to go conventional and just find a likely straight dough pretzel recipe somewhere on the internet (King Arthur Flour has several good ones). However before […]
READ ONWhat would any tour of bogus food myths be without at least a stop at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the most baking-intensive conflict in the history of man? Quite poor, methinks. To get a sense for how this one goes, start with the standard story about how the croissant originated there, and merely […]
READ ONReader Jacki writes in with this: You mention a “chewy” inside. Does this mean you have been talking about soft pretzels this whole time? I thought it was hard pretzels that you had been describing. Could you clarify, and maybe explain the difference between the two? I certainly can — because historically speaking, they’re one […]
READ ONThe Food Network has kindly requested that I spread the word that they’re casting for a new competition show along the lines of The Next Food Network Star. They’ll be holding open casting calls soon in Philadelphia, Boston, New York and DC. If you’re interested don’t quit your day job and go here.
READ ONThe below pretzel recipe calls for either dipping your pretzels in a lye bath or simply painting them with egg wash. However there is another method that’s very commonly used. It involves poaching your pretzels in boiling water to which a large volume of baking soda has been added. Soda, as you most of you […]
READ ONThose questions all came in over the weekend, and they’re good ones. I’m no chemist, but I’ll do my best to answer. Lye is an alkaline substance, which in chemical terms means it’s on the opposite side of the pH scale relative to an acid, but that doesn’t mean it’s harmless. A strong alkaline, like […]
READ ON…to every one who sent me suggestions on where to find lye these last few days. From candle and soap-making supply stores to Mexican groceries to Asian markets to Amish general stores, I had no idea there were so may potential sources of lye or very close equivalents. Due to a combination of weather, proximity, […]
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