Making a Good Soft Pretzel

LA Times:

It took a little trial and error, but I've found the process is surprisingly easy (well, except for twisting them in the air — like flipping pizza dough, that takes practice).

The secret? Lye.

The dough is simple; take a basic yeast-risen dough that can be readied in an afternoon. But the trick to great pretzels is dipping the pretzels in a liquid wash before baking — and not just any wash, but a combination of water and lye. That's what gives pretzels their terrific color, texture and flavor.

Hear the word "lye" and you probably think of commercial drain opener. A powerful alkali, lye (typically sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) is often used in heavy cleaning and soap making, and it can be highly corrosive.

But alkalies, like lye, are also widely used in the food world, a common one being baking soda (a mild alkali, the soda reacts with acidic ingredients to help leaven baked goods). Commercially, corn is often treated with alkali ("nixtamalization") to make hominy. Cocoa powder can be treated with alkali (Dutch process) to neutralize the acid, giving the powder a milder flavor and richer color. Lye is also used in the curing of olives, the canning of mandarin oranges, and in the preparation of Chinese "century eggs" and Nordic lutefisk.

I love me some soft pretzels.  This may be something I try.  I remember making pretzels in junior high, when we took 6 weeks of home ec while the girls took shop.  They were good, but not like the real thing.  This sounds better.