# Pretzels **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426 "2010-10-26T18:22:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![michaeltimpani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@michaeltimpani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/michaeltimpani)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/1 "2010-10-26T18:22:27Z")
:eek:soo Pretzels are mainly bread, but what is the ingredient in pretzels that gives it its awesome pretzley taste??? Thanks Mike Timpani from Springfield VA ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/2 "2010-10-26T18:23:35Z")
Salt? That seems to be the predominant taste to me. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/3 "2010-10-26T18:41:08Z")
Baking soda. Pretzels are made from a fairly standard yeast dough, but then dipped in or brushed with a baking soda solution before cooking. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/4 "2010-10-26T18:49:54Z")
And butter. Don’t forget butter. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/5 "2010-10-26T19:30:17Z")
To get them right, you have to soak them in lye. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/dining/26pretzelrex1.html?\_r=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/dining/26pretzelrex1.html?_r=1) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/6 "2010-10-26T20:10:47Z")
I read in some food article about pretzels in Philadelphia, they tasted so good because of the bad tasting water there! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/7 "2010-10-26T21:58:38Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > To get them right, you have to soak them in lye. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/dining/26pretzelrex1.html?\_r=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/dining/26pretzelrex1.html?_r=1) True, but I don’t know any bakeries that actually use lye anymore. Shame, really. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/8 "2010-10-27T10:51:13Z")
This thread is making me _thirsty_. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/9 "2010-10-27T11:43:05Z")
> [@michaeltimpani](#): > > :eek:soo Pretzels are mainly bread, but what is the ingredient in pretzels that gives it its awesome pretzley taste??? > > Thanks > > Mike Timpani from Springfield VA What type of pretzels? Hard, dry pretzels from a bag, soft pretzels from a street cart (yes, I do live near NYC), or those butter-drenched abominations at the mall? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/10 "2010-10-27T12:20:37Z")
I think malt is important. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/11 "2010-10-27T13:30:05Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > This thread is making me _thirsty_. I think you mean: This…thread…is making me…THIRSTY!!! ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/12 "2010-10-27T14:47:36Z")
If it’s soft pretzels you speak of, then here is the explanation. Philadelphia soft pretzels are made from a basic bread dough. When making bread dough, some of the added water is absorbed by starch granules in the flour, but the rest gets tightly bound to the proteins by hydrogen bonding forming massive branched aggregates of 100 or more molecules which are called gluten. As the dough is kneaded, the gluten chains line up forming new links, similar to the process of spinning cotton or wool into thread, making the dough stiff and elastic. The stiff, elastic dough will expand slowly to incorporate pressurize pockets, or bubbles, of carbon dioxide produced by the yeast. A stiff dough results in gas bubbles of a more even size and produces a bread with a finer texture. Only one rising of the dough is used in this recipe, as compared to many bread recipes. The second rising redistributes the yeast, its food supply, carbon dioxide, and the temperature (fermentation produces heat) forming smaller, more even gas bubbles which results in a finer, sometimes cake-like, texture. Boiling the pretzel dough before baking causes the surface starch to gelatinize into a thin transparent coating that produces a glossy brown crust when baked. If boiled too long, excess moisture will prevent browning. The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is added to the water to help the salt adhere to the surface. Some pretzel recipes call for the use of a dilute lye (sodium hydroxide) wash, instead of boiling, to make the salt adhere. The sodium hydroxide is neutralized by carbon dioxide, produced in gas and wood-fired ovens, during the baking process to form sodium carbonate. References Committee of Amish Women, Amish Cooking, Herald Press, Scottdale, PA, 1980. McGee, Harold, On Food and Cooking, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, NY, 1984. Coultate, Tom, and Jill Davies, Food, The Definitive Guide, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 1994.[http://www.chymist.com/Philadelphia%20soft%20pretzels.pdf](http://www.chymist.com/Philadelphia%20soft%20pretzels.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/13 "2010-10-27T16:04:17Z")
Are Philadelphia soft pretzels different from the soft pretzels you get from the hot dog vendor? Or are they like the ones you get from Auntie Anne? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretzels/558426/14 "2010-10-27T16:10:29Z")
Pretty much the same. Mostly thicker in Philly and of a different shape. Within Philly there are variations. Even the Philly pretzel has lighter, darker, denser, softer versions, etc. Variations in ovens, water, baking temps, etc change the consistency, but the basic are the same among all soft pretzels.