Soft Pretzel

The soft pretzel — a twist of yeasted wheat dough dipped in a lye or baking soda solution and baked until golden-brown, with a dark, slightly chewy crust and a soft, bready interior — arrived in America with German immigrants in the 18th century. Philadelphia became the soft pretzel capital of America: the city consumes more soft pretzels per capita than any other, and the Philadelphia soft pretzel (sold by street vendors, at Wawa convenience stores, and at every corner shop) is a specific product — flatter, lighter, less aggressively lyed than a Bavarian pretzel, and always served with yellow mustard. The Auntie Anne's chain (founded 1988 in a Pennsylvania Dutch farmers' market) took the soft pretzel national, but the Philadelphia street pretzel remains the local standard.

A rope of yeasted dough (flour, water, yeast, butter, sugar, salt) rolled 50-60cm long, twisted into the traditional pretzel shape (a knot with two loops and two tails), dipped briefly in a boiling solution of water and either food-grade lye (sodium hydroxide — the traditional German method) or baking soda (the safer home method), and baked at 220°C for 12-15 minutes until the exterior is dark golden-brown and the interior is soft and slightly chewy. Sprinkled with coarse salt immediately after baking.

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