Lye roll

Lye

In order to cause a Maillard reaction during baking for the characteristic browning effect, a lye roll needs to be coated with a high pH (alkaline) solution. The higher the pH, the stronger the reaction. Lye is a highly alkaline agent most commonly used for the purpose. However, lye is not the only way to produce this result: a baking soda or washing soda solution, which is easier to handle and safer to use, will provide a similar product but will not provide as strong a reaction, so the effect will be less pronounced. Lye is the strongest agent, followed by washing soda, then baking soda.

The same solution is also used for preparing pretzels; outside of Germany they are often the only baked food commonly glazed with a lye solution.

Presentation

Both lye rolls and pretzels are typically covered with salt, preferably pretzel salt, a large-grained salt made from compressed smaller salt particles, which reduces moisture absorption and the hardness of the salt grain. As a snack, lye rolls may also be sold covered with baked cheese, although this is more recent and less common. Typically they are cut in half and buttered, as large soft pretzels often are in Germany and Switzerland as well. Other toppings for lye rolls nowadays also include poppyseed, sesame, and other seeds as an alternative to salt.

Recipe

It takes around 2 hours to prepare and 25 minutes to cook. The given recipe serves 12 people.

The ingredients

The Dough

3 c unbleached all-purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 packet

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 c water, warmed to 105 F

To Poach the bread

8 cups water

1/4 c baking soda

Coarse salt.