Lye Pretzel

650g Flour
350ml water
25g fresh yeast (3.5tsp dry yeast)
60g butter or margarine
12g salt
Dissolve yeast in water
add to the flour
add salt and butter
knead until soft
If dough is sticky - add more flour
Shape dough into pretzels (or any other shapes)
Make lye solution: (you can use baking soda solution, but it will never be the same)
for every liter of water - use 50g food grade lye
I used 500ml water and dissolved 2g lye
WEAR PROTECTIVE CLOTHES (GLOVES)
DO NOT USE ORGANIC MATERIALS NEAR THE LYE
(granite countertops should be covered, any wood, bamboo or other organics will degrade.
!!!!DO NOT USE NON STICK TEFLON!!!!!
Cover with parchment paper.
Submerge your shaped pretzels in the lye solution for 15-30 seconds each.
Place them in the freezer for 30 min to hold their shape while dipping in lye.
The longer the dip, the darker the bake.
Bake soon after dipping - this dough does not need to rise!
Sprinkle with coarse (Pretzel) Salt
Bake at 450F for 15 min