Far from being the dry little aperitif biscuit, the pretzel is an indefinable Alsatian delicacy, between a bread and a brioche, the size of a hand.

Crunchy on the thin part and soft on the thick part, with a pretty golden brown color, it is not so difficult to concoct to please young and old alike.

Forget the very dry little appetizer cookies stored in a row in a small plastic jar, which are often found on French tables before a good meal with family or friends.

The pretzel (we can also say the pretzel) is much better than this cliché!

This salty delicacy, which would have emerged through the ingenuity of a baker of a count condemned to death a few centuries ago, requires a real skill but is not so difficult to do to definitely turn your back. industrial foods.

To consume quickly!

"It's a bread dough, therefore water, sourdough, flour, salt", details on Europe 1 Thierry Schwartz, baker in Obernai, Alsace.

"We knead, then add a nice amount of butter. We repeat. We let stand: we do a first shoot. And after, we put the shape we want, in the shape of the pretzel. It takes a helping hand. . Afterwards, we are going to soak it in this saline solution and cook it. It is precisely this salt water which will give the particular taste and this beautiful brownish color. "

The trick to successfully shaping the shape is to make a long, thicker sausage in the center.

Fold the dough by crossing the ends twice before folding them over the first loop to form the cross of the pretzel.

It is a delicacy that does not keep well.

It is better to eat the pretzel fresh during the day.

You can keep it 2-3 days in a cloth, and before tasting warm it in the oven.

Traditional Alsatian pretzels

Ingredients

- 500 g of flour


- 20 g of baker's yeast


- 15 cl of milk


- 15 cl of water


- 75 g of softened butter


- 70 g of sodium bicarbonate


- 2 liters of water


- Fleur de sel

The steps of the recipe

1.

Mix the yeast in the milk and lukewarm water for 15 minutes.

2.

During this time: mix the flour, salt, sugar.

Add the melted butter.

Then incorporate the water-milk-yeast mixture until a smooth dough is obtained.

3.

Cover with a damp cloth.

The dough will rise and double in size.

The ideal is to leave it in a warm place (= an oven off and preheat to 40 degrees) for at least 1h30.

4.

Preheat the oven to 200 ° C.

Knead the dough again to make it firm, supple and elastic.

The dough must come off the bowl.

5.

Divide the dough into a ball of 100 grams each.

Make sausages, about 50 cm thick, thicker in the center.

6.

To shape the pretzels: grab both ends of each strip and form a loop.

Cross the ends twice, then press each end on each side of the middle part.

7.

Immerse the pretzels in a mixture of lukewarm water and baking soda.

They should be drained with a skimmer, before placing them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.

Sprinkle them with fleur de sel, before putting them in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes (200 degrees).

They are ready when they are golden.