this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2026
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Yeah.... About that.... I cook on a more conceptual level than a recipe level (not trying to sound smart, quite the opposite, it's laziness lol)... From what I read people saying about baking being so precise it's a wonder anything I make actually comes out good lol
It's basically a simple yeast risen dough with a bunch of sugar as well. I use bread flour instead of all purpose as it retains more water and ends up softer. The "pretzelness" comes from a baking soda & water bath you give them before adding salt and baking. Just add some baking soda to hot water and toss them in it for a few seconds or so. From what I understand, the more basic the solution the better so people used to use Lye, but that's kinda dangerous and baking soda does the trick.
This is the recipe I used to get the gist of making pretzels I just don't twist them into pretzels I make rolls out of the dough.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/24272/buttery-soft-pretzels/
I think there's some AI nonsense going on in the beginning there because it calls out baking soda as a leavening agent but that's not what it's being used for in this recipe.
Baking soda is too weak. As far as I know they use sodium hydroxide in bakeries, which is kind of dangerous because it can cause serious burns on the skin. You can bake your baking soda to make the solution slightly more alkaline but it will still be a lot weaker than the stuff that's used commercially.