making soft pretzels from scratch?!

boiling your pretzels in baking soda water does a few things. it helps set the shape of your pretzel, it gives the pretzel that chewy, delicious exterior by disrupting the gluten molecules in the flour, and promotes a moist pretzel by preventing too much moisture loss. you can't achieve the same qualities by brushing baking soda water on a raw pretzel, as some recipes call for. also, it has nothing to do with helping the salt stick or promoting browning. most pretzel recipes call for a brushing of egg wash to adhere the salt and make it brown. the best pretzel recipe I've ever made is the highest rated soft pretzel recipe on allrecipes.com and it is KILLER.

chemistry classes, and lots of soft pretzel making experience

The water doesn't have to be boiling.

It does a couple fo things. It takes help brown, and is a way to make the salt stick on the dough before baking.

The alkali solution is what causes the crust to brown so deeply, and it's most of the difference between a pretzel and a bagel.....


Hope this helps.........