Red Currant Bakery

Dough
0 In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the all purpose flour (350 grams), the whole wheat flour (150 grams) and the instant yeast (8 grams).
2 Pour in the lukewarm water (300 grams), softened butter (20 grams), and kosher salt (10 grams).
3 Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough on low speed until smooth, about 10-15 minutes.
4 Shape the dough into a ball and place back in the mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a lid or some sort of cover and leave somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes - 1 hour.
5 Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Shape: Part 1
7 Once doubled in size, knock the air out of the dough by punching it down. Then, briefly re-knead it by hand. Do not use any extra flour from this point forward.
8 Pat the dough into a fat square. Use a bench scraper, knife, or your hands to divide the dough into 4 equal logs.
9 Working with one log at a time, pat the dough into a flat(ish) log. It should be just over 1/4" thick. This part doesn't need to be precise. Cover the remaining logs with a kitchen towel.
10 With the log laid out in front of you horizontally, start with the long side furthest away from you and fold it just over itself towards you. Almost as if you are going to roll it up but after each fold/roll, smush the edge into the rest of the log to press out any extra air.
11 Continue this folding and sealing until the flattened log is rolled up into a tight log. When you get to the opposite long side, seal the edge to the rest of the rolled log.
32 Place the log seam side down and use the heals of your hands to roll the log to about 36"-40" long. For a traditional shape, keep the center of the log a bit fatter to get that fat belly.
33 If needed rub a little olive oil on your hands and work surface to create a bit of tension.
Shape: Part 2
35 Once it is long enough take the (now very long) log and shape it into a bit of a wide U. Cross both ends over each other so you have a bit of a bunny shape. Think a rounded triangular shape at the bottom with two long tails (8" approximately) coming off the top. If possible check the photos for better reference.
36 Then cross the ends over each other again so they are now twisted together and not just crossed over one another.
37 Pick up both ends and flip them down over the rounded triangle to the bottom corners of the triangle. About 1/2" up from the ends of the tails, press them into the bottom corners of the triangle.
38 You should now have something resembling a pretzel.
39 Transfer the shaped pretzel to one quarter of the lined baking sheet, reshape as needed.
40 Repeat with the remaining logs of dough.
41 Once all pretzels are shaped, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour.
42 In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450 F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Place another one, one to two slots below it.
Lye Bath
43 Place an empty baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven (you want it to get nice and hot).
12 Once the oven is hot and the pretzels have been in the fridge for an hour, it's time for the lye bath. Refer to the tips section earlier in the blog post for all the information and precautions when working with lye! Most importantly, wear gloves, eye protection, work in a well ventilated space, use a glass or stainless steel bowl, and add the lye into the water, not the other way around.
14 In a large glass bowl, add in 1 liter of water. Sprinkle with 37 grams of food grade lye. Use a stainless steel slotted spoon to stir it until the water becomes clear again. This is when the majority of the fumes will be released so I recommend being close to the window or even outside for this part.
44 Take the pretzels out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap.
15 Place one pretzel at a time, ideally with the top (the side with the tails pressed in) face down into the lye bath. The tails, may come unstuck but that's ok just be gentle. Leave it to float for 15 seconds. Then, use a slotted spoon and another stainless steel tool to carefully flip the pretzel over. Leave it to float for another 15 seconds.
16 Carefully lift the pretzel out of the lye bath with the two stainless steel tools. Allow the excess lye bath to drip off.
17 Place the pretzel back on the parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pretzels.
18 Be intentional about where you place the pretzels because they are hard to move once on the parchment paper.
Score and Salt
20 Sprinkle the top of each pretzel with your desired amount of pretzel salt. I like a lot but you can always do less if you prefer.
21 Use a bread lame, razor blade, or knife to cut one slit in the belly (the bottom fat part) of each pretzel. The slit doesn't need to be very deep.
22 Bring your sheet of scored and salted pretzels next to the oven. Measure out a 1/2 cup or 125 milliliters of water in a measuring cup.
Bake
27 Place the baking sheet with the pretzels in the oven, on the middle rack.
28 Immediately after, pull out the bottom rack with the baking sheet and pour the water onto it. Quickly close the oven to trap in the steam and bake for 15 minutes.
29 After 15 minutes, rotate the baking sheet with the pretzels 180 degrees. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until they become a deep golden brown color.
30 Once baked, take the baking sheet with the pretzels out of the oven. Place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Use oven mitts or a spatula to transfer the pretzels to their own cooling rack. This allows any excess moisture to evaporate rather than soak back in.
31 Allow the pretzels to cool for another 10 minutes before serving!