German New Year Pretzel
This is a classic German New Year's delicacy that is believed to bring luck when consumed as the first food of the year. Germans typically enjoy it with a generous spread of butter. Instead of a salty pretzel, this treat features a slightly sweet dough. I successfully converted and translated this recipe from metric measurements and the German language, and the results are truly delightful!
Ingredients
- 6 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm milk, divided
- 4 ½ tablespoons white sugar
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, sifted, or more as needed
- 4 ½ tablespoons melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon white sugar, or as needed
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup milk in a bowl; add 4 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Let stand until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
- Stir yeast mixture and 2 1/4 cups flour together in a bowl until dough is dry and clumpy. Allow dough to rise for 15 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup milk, butter, egg, lemon zest, and salt to dough until evenly mixed.
- Knead dough, adding more flour as needed, until dough is elastic. Cover bowl with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and allow dough to rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 390 degrees F (199 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
- Gently knead dough; roll into a long rope on the prepared baking sheet and twist into a pretzel shape. Cover dough with a clean towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 15 minutes more.
- Brush egg yolk over dough and sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over egg yolk.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 255kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 7gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 71mgPotassium: 159mgFiber: 2gSugar: 9gCalcium: 51mgIron: 2mg
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