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Take inspiration from the traditional twisted soft chewy pretzel and make it into a bread loaf. The loaf has a nice shine and a dark soft crust, which are characteristics of pretzels.
What is pretzel bread loaf or bretzel?
A pretzel is a type of baked bread product that is typically twisted into a knot-like shape. Traditional pretzels are made from dough that is boiled in lye water bath and then baked. They have a distinct brown and slightly salty exterior and a soft, chewy interior. Bretzel is not an official term I don’t think. I’ve seen this term being used on Instagram because it’s like a combination of bread loaf and pretzel. So instead of being shaped into a knot, the dough is just shaped into bread loaf and let rise in a loaf pan.
No boiling in lye water bath
Like I’ve mentioned above that boiling pretzels in a lye water bath is a traditional step in the process of making authentic pretzels. Lye, which is a strong alkaline solution, is used to give pretzels their distinctive brown color, shiny crust, and unique flavor. It also gives the pretzel its distinctive flavor.
But because I’m making a bread loaf instead of pretzel knots or buns, I follow the steps I would usually do to make a bread loaf. I need to let the dough rise in a loaf pan. So after the shaping step, the dough is rolled in a baking soda bath instead and then proceed to final fermentation.
Why I called this enriched pretzel dough
Traditional pretzel dough is pretty lean. It only uses flour, yeast, water, a bit of sugar, and salt. The dough is usually not fermented for a very long time, though some people prefer to do so for a softer spongier texture. This recipe is definitely a bit unorthodox, but I love the result. Perhaps I’m used to Asian-style soft milk bread/shokupan, this is similar to that but with some flavor of pretzel. The dough is enriched with egg, milk, honey, and oil. So the dough is soft versus the traditional pretzel dough, which is more stiff in nature.
This recipe is adapted from Jade’s with some modifications in the process.
Soft Fluffy Pretzel Bread Loaf (Bretzel)
Ingredients
- 350 g bread flour (12.7% protein content)
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 185 g milk or more as needed
- 50 g egg from 1 medium egg
- 25 g sugar
- 10 g honey
- 7 g salt
- 7 g instant yeast
- 35 g oil
Baking soda bath:
- 120 ml boiling water
- 1 Tbsp baking soda
Egg wash:
- 1 egg beaten
Topping:
- Pretzel salt
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Add all ingredients for the dough except for the oil. Use the dough hook to stir the mixture a bit so the flour won't fly around when you start the mixer. Knead on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes and then increase to speed 2 and knead for 3 minutes and then speed 4 for another 3 minutes or until it forms a dough that clears the side of the bowl, but not smooth yet
- Add oil and knead on speed 2 for about 2-3 minutes and then increase speed to 4 and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is soft, smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky to the touch. If you stretch a small portion of the dough thinly and gently, it shouldn't break. This is a windowpane stage. The dough will be slightly sticky to the touch. This is the texture we want for soft texture bread
First proofing:
- Lightly oil the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel or loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until double in volume. if it's colder, it may take longer to proof the dough
Prepare the baking soda bath:
- Combine boiling water with baking soda. Let it cool down to at least lukewarm so we won't kill the yeast
Shaping:
- Knock out all the gas by giving it some kneading. Divide the dough to 3 equal portions. Round them up into balls. Cover and let them rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten
- Brush your loaf pan with some oil all over. You can use 9 x 5 loaf pan or 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan, which will give you a very tall loaf. Work with one dough at a time. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 12 x 8 inches roughly, trying to deflate as much air bubbles as possible at the same time so there won’t be holes inside your bread later. Fold both sides to the center. Roll it up tightly from the short side and pinch the seam to seal
Roll the dough in baking soda bath:
- Unlike making traditional twisted pretzel or buns where we boil the dough in baking soda bath, in this case we just dip the dough and coat them in the bath
- Take one shaped dough and roll it in the solution for 8 seconds. This is to ensure you get that deep brown color. The dough is slippery now because it's wet. Place it inside the loaf pan. Repeat with another two doughs.
- Place all the shaped dough side by side. Gently press them down to fit the pan and so that they are the same height
Final proofing:
- Cover the loaf pan with a plastic wrap and let it ferment until they reach the rim of the pan, about 1 hour at a warm place. 15 minutes before the end of the proofing, preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for convection oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven
Baking:
- Combine the egg with water using a whisk. Strain them if necessary so the white won't be in one blob. Brush this thinly on top of the dough. Sprinkle with some coarse salt or pretzel salt
- Place the loaf pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The time is just for reference. You may need to tent loosely with aluminum foil if the top gets browned too quickly.
- The internal temperature of the bread should be at least 190 F (88C)
- Remove from the oven and drop the pan on the counter once or twice and then gently unmould the bread and let it cool down completely on a cooling rack
- Do not cut into freshly baked bread until it has cooled down completely, otherwise, you will ruin the crumbs
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to bake pretzel bread loaf (bretzel)
1. Add all ingredients for the dough except for the oil. Use the dough hook to stir the mixture a bit so the flour won’t fly around when you start the mixer. Knead on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes and then increase to speed 2 and knead for 3 minutes and then speed 4 for another 3 minutes or until it forms a dough that clears the side of the bowl, but not smooth yet
2. Knead on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes and then increase to speed 2 and knead for 3 minutes and then speed 4 for another 3 minutes or until it forms a dough that clears the side of the bowl, but not smooth yet
3. Add oil and knead on speed 2 for about 2-3 minutes and then increase speed to 4 and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is soft, smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky to the touch. If you stretch a small portion of the dough thinly and gently, it shouldn’t break. This is a windowpane stage. The dough will be slightly sticky to the touch. This is the texture we want for soft texture bread
4. Lightly oil the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel or loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until double in volume. if it’s colder, it may take longer to proof the dough
5. Combine boiling water with baking soda. Let it cool down to at least lukewarm so we won’t kill the yeast
6. Knock out all the gas by giving it some kneading. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Round them up into balls. Cover and let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten
7. Brush your loaf pan with some oil all over. You can use 9 x 5 loaf pan or 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan, which will give you a very tall loaf. Work with one dough at a time. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 12 x 8 inches roughly, trying to deflate as much air bubbles as possible at the same time so there won’t be holes inside your bread later. 
8. Fold both sides to the center. Roll it up tightly from the short side and pinch the seam to seal. Place this inside the loaf pan. Repeat with another two doughs. Roll it up tightly from the short side and pinch the seam to seal
9. Take one shaped dough and roll it in the solution for 8 seconds. This is to ensure you get that deep brown color. The dough is slippery now because it’s wet. 
10. Place it inside the loaf pan. Repeat with another two doughs. Place all the shaped dough side by side. Gently press them down to fit the pan and so that they are the same height
11. Cover the loaf pan with a plastic wrap and let it ferment until they reach the rim of the pan, about 1 hour at a warm place. 15 minutes before the end of the proofing, preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for convection oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven
12. Combine the egg with water using a whisk. Strain them if necessary so the white won’t be in one blob. Brush this thinly on top of the dough. Sprinkle with some coarse salt or pretzel salt. I tried to score the top of the dough, but didn’t seem to have much effect because I probably didn’t score deep enough.
13. Place the loaf pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The time is just for reference. You may need to tent loosely with aluminum foil if the top gets browned too quickly.
Did you make this pretzel bread loaf/bretzel recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made. Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
