If you are not comfortable working with potentially hazardous chemicals, such as bleach, then do not following the following steps. Instead, I recommend an egg yolk with tablespoon of water to brush over the dough.

Lye?As in Caustic Soda? Like Drain Cleaner? You mean Sodium hydroxide? NaOH?

Why in the world would we want this in our food? Well, technically it is not present in the pretzels when you eat them. By applying the lye/water solution to the pretzel dough, a chemical reaction occurs while baking them, the resulting crust is crisp and unmatchable. During the baking process the toxic properties of the sodium hydroxide are removed.

Learn more about the chemical reaction and cautions from this article: For A Proper Pretzel Crust, Count On Chemistry And Memories

If you're serious about the pretzel flavor and texture:

Additional Ingredients and Supplies

2 cups water (16 oz.)

1 spray bottle (food-grade) or kitchen brush.

1 ounce dry lye (food-grade)





USE CAUTION WHEN HANDLING LYE