Lye or baking soda? To make authentic pretzels with the flavor and texture that you would expect to find in Bavaria, Germany, then one uses lye and not baking soda. Yes, its use requires precautions, but so does use of an oven whose temperatures can cause severe burns if one isn't careful, as does a stand mixer with moving parts.

I made pretzels for the first time last weekend. The lye bath was no big deal (I wore rubber gloves, I wear glasses, and I added lye to the water and not the other way around). The outcome when the pretzels came out of the oven? WOW! None of us could believe how good they were, just like the ones you would expect in a German beer garden.

As a bonus, I improved the draining capacity for my tub and kitchen sink by pouring the lye down the drains. :-)

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