My first crack at making/baking pretzels – how do I keep the ‘skin’ from cracking?

by Captain_Wisconsin

22 Comments

  1. GGGiveHatpls

    Tbh. IMO. Cracked skin is a great sign for soft pretzels.

  2. maddbunny23

    I actually think I need whatever this recipe is because this is lowkey ideal for me😅

  3. Kogoeshin

    Homemade pretzels almost always crack when done properly. Look up any recipe for soft pretzels and look at the images. You’ll see all of them are cracked (or try to cover up cracks as the last step) – and remember these images are the best looking ones of the batch!

    If you want, you can add some steam and humidity into your oven to minimise the cracks a little (professional, thousands of dollars equipment might be able to stop cracks maybe), but they’re probably going to crack anyway and that’s OK.

  4. I don’t know how different US pretzels are from german Brezeln, but in Germany we normally make a larger “belly” and thinner knot, then cut a slit in the belly to control where the skin cracks. Usually the rest of the pretzel is then quite thin and I haven’t seen much cracking

  5. verbalyabusiveshit

    Look…. This is how a pretzel should look like. It’s perfect as is .

  6. MagnoliasBuilder

    You don’t. That’s how Bretzen are supposed to be. As a Bavarian (Bavaria is the home of Bretzen btw.), i can tell you that those look really good!

  7. NataschaTata

    As a German: that’s just fine. If you buy a pretzel at a bakery where they still make them by hand, that’s how they’ll look. Only factory made ones will all look the same and perfect.

  8. 3steaks-pam

    They look amazing! I don’t think the cracked skin matters at all

  9. What recipe are you using?? I want it these look incredible!

  10. BakedBakr420

    These look perfect and now I want a pretzel lol

  11. johnmichael-kane

    Curious why you want to get rid of the cracks? I see cracks in pretzels at the supermarket or when I make them at home and it just means they’re not super processed and made fresh I think!

  12. JustMeOutThere

    Small cut on the inside. so that when it splits it splits there instead of on top.

  13. PeeB4uGoToBed

    Don’t forget to brush melted butter on them!

  14. russiangerman

    I agree that they’re perfect, but steam would probably help just like normal bread. If you bake in a pan, maybe another deep pan upside down on top? Similar to how dutch ovens trap steam. Or just a steam tray of water maybe?

  15. Thesavagepotato06

    Omg yum! I like pretzel stretch marks they’re cute

  16. woolfonmynoggin

    Are you giving them a baking soda bath? Mine don’t crack when I do that

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