Soft Pretzel with Bacon and Cheese (Ditsch Copycat Schinken-Käse Brezelstange)
Serves 8
35 mins prep
0 mins cook
35 mins total
This soft pretzel with bacon and cheese is a copycat recipe of the famous German Ditsch bakery's addictive 'Schinken-Käse Brezelstange.' And to me, it tastes exactly like it (if not better!). I top my soft homemade pretzel sticks with high-quality ingredients, such as uncured bacon and Emmentaler or Gruyère cheese to get the authentic, addictive taste. They're the perfect treat to go with a cocktail or on the side with dinner (or is dinner really the side here?). This recipe is based on my super popular soft German pretzel recipe.
Pretzel Dough
Lye Solution
Pretzel Toppings
To make your pretzel dough, combine brown sugar, dry yeast and barely warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes until the yeast starts to activate and bubble.
In a large bowl, combine sifted flour, salt, room temperature butter (heat for a few seconds in microwave if too cold) with the yeast mixture. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes or until you achieve a smooth, elastic dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in a warm spot. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours. You can also prepare the dough the night before and keep it in the fridge.
When ready to start working with the dough, preheat your oven to 420℉ or 220℃. Prep two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Divide your pretzel dough into 16 equal pieces. I divide the dough in half, shape two long logs and divide each log into 8 equal pieces using a knife or dough cutter.
The roll each piece out to 10 inch (about 25 cm) long logs, tapering both ends. Place 2 logs next to each other on the parchment paper covered baking sheets to make 8 double log pretzel sticks (view photo). Cover and allow to rest in a warm spot for 20 minutes.
Prepare your lye solution by carefully whisking the lye into the cold water, not the other way around. Carefull and ideally wearing rubber gloves and a steel skimmer, submerge one pretzel stick at a time in the lye solution for about 10 seconds, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Top with the shredded cheese and small diced, trimmed bacon.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes on the middle rack. Serve warm or cooled, ideally the same day.
Store leftovers in your fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. When ready to reheat, run some water over the pretzel sticks, then bake for 5 to 8 minutes at 350℉ (180℃).
