Notes on Sourdough Hard Pretzels

Today I made two batches of sourdough hard pretzels today (4-5 cups of flour filling 4 baking sheets). I need to make them many more times to figure out the best method.

The pretzels I scooped out of the boiling soda water as soon as they floated were not as soda tasting as the ones I left in for 30 seconds. Longer is better! Another recipe recommends 30 seconds a side, (but not to turn them just spoon water over them) in the simmering+ boiling baking soda water. I wasn't simmering the water (as I should've) so it boiled and foamed over the edge of the pot. Now I learned a larger pot with steep sides is best. A steel pot is better since my aluminum pot reacted with the baking soda and stained. There was so much foam that I couldn't see the pretzels when I went to fish them out. It was a riot. I finally took them off the hot burner.

I did notice that the baking soda in the water contributed the most to the pretzel taste.

9 cups of water needed 1/2 cup baking soda or 1/3 cup soda for 8 cups of water, or 2 Tablespoons soda per 2 cups of water.

I used all of my active and alive sourdough starter 2-3 cups, (this was too much!) and a weensy bit of instant yeast (1 teaspoon) and 3 cups of bread flour and 2 teaspoons of salt. Perhaps had I used less sourdough the dough would have been less limp. I refrigerated it overnight in a bucket. The dough was sticky so I added more of my bread flour which already has malted barley in it. I am used to wet bread dough and I was not using a recipe. Once I added more flour the density seemed right.

There was no need to oil the pretzels! In the past I used an egg wash, I might try that again.

I am still thinking about the fact that I'll need to do this many more times to get it right. Since my sourdough needs to be used often and we buy Snyder's Sourdough Pretzels every week perhaps we should be MAKING THEM and solve 2 things.