Why is Oktoberfest in September?
gotta start baking/brewing so it’s all ready by next month.
I read that back in the 1800s, residents of Munich simply pushed it back to take advantage of longer days and warmer weather for celebrating. I’ll have another beer, please!
SOON
This just arrived. Real compressed pretzel salt should arrive tomorrow.
Let’s hope I don’t end up horribly scarred ala’ fight club.
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You are certainly going to a lot of trouble. Hope it bakes up well. We had a satisfying wurst platter at a local Irish tavern recently…
First practice run done!! All my skin and mucous membranes are intact!
2 tsp Active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tblspn barley malt syrup
420g bread flour
1/2 cup pilsner-style beer (for the record, Pincushion from Device Brewing, Sacramento, CA)
2 tblspn unsalted butter
2 tsp fine sea salt.
mix dough 'til smooth and elastic. divide into 8 equal pieces (approx 90g ea). Preshape into balls. flatten and roll into 16 in. logs. then start at the first one and lengthen each into 24in tapered ropes.
Shape into pretzels and let proof for 30 min.
Pre-dip
I should have rolled them out longer/thinner. Shaping still needs practice.
The dip
2 tablespoons lye crystals to 1 quart COLD water. USE GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION! Use ONLY plastic with the 2 (HDPE, High Density Polyethylene) or 5 (PP, Polypropylene) recycle symbol on them or high quality stainless steel. You CAN use glass, but repeated/long term use will etch even pyrex, and make it prone shattering. Bothe the containers you see (2 qt shallow Cambro food storage container and the larger ‘disposable’ ziplock container are 5 (PP).
You want cold water because adding the lye to the water WILL warm it up significantly. Its dissolution is exothermic.
float each pretzel 10 seconds, flip, another 10 seconds, drain w/ stainless steel skimmer or slotted spoon and place back on tray. If eating that day, top w/ pretzel salt. If not, leave naked.
And finally, bake at 500 8 - 12 minutes 'til deep brown and delicious. Let cool on wire rack, like so:
Serve w/ mustard, cheese sauce, beer, sausages, etc.
for next day eating, dampen surface of naked pretzel VERY slightly. sprinkle salt. heat in toaster oven 350 for 2-5 minutes.
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Those pretzels look great. I’ll take a half dozen with salt.
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The salt, incidentally, is particular. It’s this:
compressed ‘pretzel salt’. If you can’t find this, Maldon will certainly do, but this still is saltier and crunchier than Maldon, and key to the proper ‘street vendor / fair’ - style pretzel vibe.
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They are beautiful!
They look awesome!
What was the reasoning for using lye back in the day? Preservation? Also does the lye cook out because of the heat?
Just wanted to add it’s very important to add the lye TO THE water as you did, NOT the other way around. If you do the reverse there’s a chance the exothermic reaction will result in a caustic boil over
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YES!!! 1000x this. Fill tub with water. GENTLY pour the lye into the water. Do not just dump it in.
Agitate gently with stainless steel or other lye-safe utensil until the crystals are dissolved and water is once again clear. Then dip. Always use eye protection and gloves. I used regular latex household gloves, and had no issues.
To dispose, carefully dispose down drain. The stuff is, after all, drain cleaner, and should be safe for most systems, especially in relatively low concentrations such as this.
If you want the full on lye safety lectures, look up soap making. Those folks deal with lye in REALLY dangerous quantities and concentrations. I plucked most of my safety research from various soap making sites and information, esp re: what should my containers and utensils be made of?
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That, and also to punk all those overly presumptuous tourists who show up in October wondering where the party is lol…
Crazy dark. That’s what happened here the first time with bagels and sodium carbonate.
Yeah. I had not even CONSIDERED using my sodium carbonate for bagels! The recipes I have gathered all used, at most, plain ol’ baking soda in the boil. I have found I really like using malt syrup in addition (both help browning).
I’ve just looked up ‘baked baking soda bagels’ and found a bunch of folks who DO, in fact, use sodium cabonate and even lye in making bagels, though they all say that it gives them a distinct pretzel-y vibe.
I DO know that I think boiling is KEY to the right bagel texture, so lye is out, since there’s absolutely ZERO chance I’d ever put a lye solution over a live flame outside a controlled lab setting.
But now you have me wondering…
I will confirm, though, that lye really does make a noticeable difference in the pretzels. Sodium Carbonate once are very good. These tasted EXACTLY those big pretzels you get from the really good pubs.
fresh bavarian pretzels are unbeatable, except by laugendrieck - like a cross between croissant/brioche/pretzel. also immersed in lye
(https://www.froneri-schoeller.de/tiefkuehlbackwaren/pikante-snacks/34001558_laugendreieck-pur)
also, since you have access to immediately fresh pretzels, cutting them in half and spreading butter across is a move
you might also try making some laugenstangerl - long roll-shaped pretzels. personally i think its a better pretzel shape
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Does Liverwurst make the cut? Need a taste of it from time to time. Oktoberfest is one of those times. Enjoying my sandwiches.
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Those look appreciably easier to shape, if not spell.
So many neat ideas!
Oktoberfest season is back. Sadly, the German restaurants in our part of suburban New York City have all but dwindled. Some Irish taverns have tried to pick up the slack. How did that happen? Anyway, what are your favorite dishes/venues?