Recipe: Homemade Pretzels with Obazda

FOR THE PRE-DOUGH:

100 g all-purpose flour
60 g water
3 g fresh yeast

FOR THE MAIN DOUGH:

400 g all-purpose flour
20 g barley malt
10 g salt
12 g fresh yeast
20 g softened butter
200 ml lukewarm water
Flour for the work surface

PLUS:

Coarse salt
500 ml water
50 g baking soda

OBAZDA WITH PEARS AND BACON FRIES:

100 g ripe Camembert (room temperature)
1 tablespoon herb cream cheese
50 g softened butter
1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
2 pinches caraway seeds
Salt, pepper
½ ripe pear
1 dash lemon juice
50 g smoked pork belly
½ red onion
Chives for garnish

Prepare the pre-dough a day ahead of time. Combine flour, yeast, and water and knead for about 3 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour. Then let rise in the refrigerator for 12 to 14 hours.

On the next day, combine flour, barley malt, salt, yeast, butter, and water in a bowl and add the pre-dough. Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, knead thoroughly at low speed for about 5 minutes. Then knead at medium speed for another 5 minutes. Cover the dough and let stand for 15 minutes.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead briefly. Divide it into eight equal-sized portions (about 95 g each) and loosely shape into round balls. Let stand briefly and then roll out into long ropes that are thick toward the middle and thin out toward the ends. The ends of the ropes should remain rounded and not come to a point.

Twist each rope into a pretzel and place on two baking sheets lined with dishtowels. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour until they double in size. Remove the plastic wrap and refrigerate the pretzels for another hour. This step halfway through the proofing process serves to dry them out and is important for forming a stable surface so that they don’t soak up the baking soda later on.

Preheat the oven to 230°C top and bottom heat. In a saucepan, briefly bring water and baking soda to a boil and dip each pretzel in the mixture for about 5 seconds. Remove them from the water, drain, and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Score the pretzels at their thickest point and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake the pretzels in batches on shelf level 2 for 12 to 14 minutes until golden-brown. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Obazda with Pears and Bacon Fries

For the obazda, cut the Camembert into small pieces. Combine Camembert, cream cheese, butter, paprika, and caraway in a bowl and mash with a fork to form a smooth mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Peel the pear, remove seeds, and dice finely. Drizzle with lemon juice to keep it from turning brown. Peel the onion and cut into fine rings.

Cut the pork belly into strips about 2 cm wide. In a non-stick pan, fry over medium heat until crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Carefully fold the diced pears into the obazda and arrange with onions and bacon fries. Garnish with chives if desired.