I love pretzels. There is just something about that baking soda/lye flavor that is so special.
My favorite kind of pretzels is the German-style soft pretzels. I made Sourdough Discard Bavarian Pretzels back in December, and those barely lasted a day (and I made 6!). Tied in second is a pretzel-croissant hybrid, called Laugenecken and Pretzel Crisps. I can’t find anything like Laugenecken here in the US but they were everywhere in Germany– literally, every supermarket bakery carried them. Luckily for me though, Snack Factory’s Pretzel Crisps are pretty prolific here (and ironically, not in Germany!).
This is my sourdough take on the light and crispy pretzel crisps. Skip the flattening to make regular hard pretzels.
The Process
Make the dough
Evenly mix together sourdough discard, water, oil, salt and sugar. Add in flour and mix and roughly knead until a stiff dough forms. Let rest for 30 minutes. After resting, knead the dough until smooth and let the dough rise for about 2 hours.
Shape
Transfer the rested dough to a lightly floured work surface. Flatten with your palms, sprinkle with some flour and roll out the dough into a very thin rectangle about 10 inches wide. Using a knife, cut thin strips into the dough. Take a strip and shape into a pretzel. Using a rolling pin, flatten the pretzel shaped dough as thinly as possible. This will also help fuse the twists together into the pretzel shape. Set it on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the strips.
Bake
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat.
Make the baking soda mixture by combining water and baking soda. Brush or dip the pretzels with the baking soda mixture and lightly sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 10 minutes in the oven. Remove from oven and let the crisps cool until they are cool enough to handle. Dunk the half-baked pretzel into the baking soda mixture and shake off any excess water. Place it back on the baking sheet, with the opposite side facing up. Repeat with the rest of the half-baked crisps. Lightly sprinkle with salt and transfer back into the oven and bake until golden brown.
Looking for more sourdough discard snack recipes? Check these out:
- Sourdough Discard Garlic Crackers
- Sourdough Discard Cheese Crackers
- Sourdough Discard Almond Cacao Crisps
- Sourdough Discard Cranberry Almond Crackers
Sourdough Discard Pretzel Crisps
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 50 g sourdough discard
- 20 g water
- 15 g oil
- 75 g all-purpose flour
- 6 g brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Baking soda mixture
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp baking soda
- coarse salt for topping
Instructions
- Evenly mix together sourdough discard, water, oil, salt and sugar. Add in flour and mix and roughly knead until a stiff dough forms. Let rest for 30 minutes.
- After resting, knead the dough until smooth and let rest for 2 hours.
- Transfer the rested dough to a lightly floured work surface. Flatten with your palms, sprinkle with some flour and roll out the dough into a very thin rectangle about 10 inches wide. Using a knife, cut the dough into 1/4" strips. Take a strip and shape into a pretzel.
- Using a rolling pin or your hands, flatten the pretzel shaped dough. This will also help fuse the twists together into the pretzel shape. Set it on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the strips.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat.
- Make the baking soda mixture by combining water and baking soda. Dip the pretzels with the baking soda mixture and lightly sprinkle with salt.
- Bake for 10 minutes in the oven or until the pretzels starts turning a golden color. Remove from oven and let the crisps cool until they are cool enough to handle. Dunk the half-baked pretzel into the baking soda mixture and shake off excess water. Place it back on the baking sheet, with the opposite side facing up. Repeat with the rest of the half-baked crisps. Bake until the pretzels are a deep golden brown.
- Let cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container when it has completely cooled.
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