Caramel Apple Homemade Soft Pretzel Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient which makes a pretzel taste like a pretzel? ›

On the one hand, lye gives pretzels their distinctive flavor, kind of a sharp flatness, if that makes sense. It's what keeps a pretzel from tasting like pretzel-shaped bread. On the other hand, lye is ridiculously dangerous. It will burn you if it gets on your skin and blind you if it gets in your eyes.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet.

You can use any variety of apple you enjoy such as Granny Smith, Fuji, or Honeycrisp. Granny Smith are a popular choice for caramel apples because they're tart, which pairs perfectly with sweet buttery caramel.

We recommend refrigerating your Gourmet Caramel Apples as soon as you receive them. This is the best way to maintain their firmness and taste. How long are Caramel Apples good for in the fridge? When chilled, our Caramel Apples will be delicious for up to three weeks.

Traditional Bavarian pretzels are dipped in a lye solution before they are baked. Lye, also known as sodium hydroxide, is essentially the same stuff that's used to make soap and clean drains. It can even dissolve glass.

What Gives Pretzels Their Pretzel Flavor? You have baking soda to thank for that distinct pretzel flavor. Baking soda is highly alkaline and imparts that subtly metallic taste onto the dough before your pretzels go into the oven. Some recipes call for a lye bath, which does the same thing.

Well, the cheery ladies were very clear with me: they do NOT use lye. No sodium hydroxide/poison/caustic soda—none whatsoever—in their pretzels. (They do, however, dip their pretzels in a baking soda solution.)

The answer lies in a brief dip in an alkaline water bath before baking. This bath essentially gelatinizes the outside of the pretzel, preventing it from fully “springing” during baking (as bread does) and giving pretzels their signature chewy crust. It also gives them their unique and indelible “pretzel” flavor.

Furthermore, we've introduced the baking soda bath. While it sounds strange, this step is what gives pretzels that iconic flavor, chewy texture, helps deepen their golden color in the oven, and locks in the super soft interior.

Product description. Buttery caramel and toffee studded custard hug fresh Granny Smith apples piled high in our melt-in-the-mouth shortbread crust.

What do you call a caramel apple? ›

Alternative names. Toffee apples, taffy apples. Type. Confectionery. Place of origin.

Honeycrisp. One of the sweetest apples around, this Midwestern favorite is good for anything—including baking. It boasts a distinctive juicy crispness and is firm enough that it won't cook down much. It complements just about any other apple variety to make a stellar pie.

Storage Instructions:

To Store: These beautiful dipped caramel apples will last for about 2 weeks, stored in the refrigerator. They make great gifts for teachers, friends and neighbors! I like to wrap them in a piece of cellophane with a cute ribbon.

At room temperature, caramel apples can stay fresh for up to two weeks - but they need to be stored correctly, not kept out on the counter in the sun! Caramel apples can keep up to three weeks, but only if they are kept in chilled conditions.

Internal browning is caused by the oxidation of phenolic compounds that occurs when cells in apples are damaged. This is similar to the browning reaction that happens when you cut an apple and expose the surface to air.

Salt is the most common seasoning, or topping, for pretzels, complementing the washing soda or lye treatment that gives pretzels their traditional skin and flavor acquired through the Maillard reaction. Other toppings are mustard, cheeses, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, sweet glazing, seeds, and nuts.

In the state of Bavaria, pretzels are more evenly formed and soft all over, with arms just about as thick as their belly. Before baking, however, they are all dipped in lye, a sodium hydroxide solution that gives them their glossy, chestnut brown crust and unmistakable alkali flavor.

The dipping stage normally takes just 10-15 seconds of exposure to the hot alkaline solution which is about 200°F. Traditionally the solution was a mixture of sodium hydroxide and water. Today, most production involves the use of sodium carbonate and bicarbonate solutions which are not as caustic as NaOH.

After removing other scent molecules individually, the researchers found two molecules that are essential to the unique pretzel scent: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which has a roasted smell, and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, which has a caramel smell.