Laugenstangerl

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Kitchen scale
• •Deep stainless steel or glass container for lye bath
• •Rubber gloves (if using food-grade lye)
• •Slotted spoon
• •Sharp knife or razor blade for scoring
• •Baking tray with parchment paper or silicone mat
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. If you're using fresh yeast, crumble it into the lukewarm milk first and let it dissolve for five minutes. Add the milk and softened butter to the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a rough, shaggy mass, then turn it out onto a clean surface and knead. Ten minutes by hand, seven in a stand mixer with a dough hook. You're looking for a smooth, elastic dough that springs back when you press it with your finger. It should feel slightly tacky but not sticky. If it clings to your hands, resist adding more flour. A slightly soft dough makes a better crumb.

   The milk should be warm to the touch but not hot. If you can hold your finger in it comfortably, the temperature is right. Too hot and you'll kill the yeast before it's done anything useful.
2. 2

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about one hour, until it has doubled in size. The butter and milk in this dough mean it rises a little slower than a lean bread dough. Don't rush it. The flavor develops during this rest.

3. 3

   Shape the Stangerl

   Turn the risen dough onto your work surface and press it gently to release the gas. Divide it into eight equal pieces. A kitchen scale helps here. Each piece should weigh about 105 grams. Roll each piece into a stick about 18 to 20 centimeters long, slightly tapered at the ends and fatter in the middle. Use the flat of your palms, not your fingertips, and roll from the center outward. If the dough springs back and won't hold its shape, let it rest under a towel for five minutes and try again. The gluten is fighting you. Give it time to relax.

   Don't flour the surface for shaping. You actually want a tiny bit of grip between the dough and the counter. Too much flour and the sticks will slide around instead of stretching.
4. 4

   Chill the shaped sticks

   Place the shaped Stangerl on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving a few centimeters between each one. Cover loosely with cling film and refrigerate for thirty minutes. This cold rest firms up the dough so it holds its shape when you dip it in the lye bath. Soft, room-temperature dough goes floppy in the liquid and you'll lose your clean shape. Cold dough behaves.

5. 5

   Prepare the lye bath

   This is the step that makes a Laugenstangerl what it is. You have two options. For the real thing: fill a deep stainless steel or glass container with one liter of cold water. Wearing rubber gloves, slowly add 30 grams of food-grade sodium hydroxide to the water. Always add the lye to the water, never water to lye. Stir gently with a metal or wooden spoon until dissolved. For the home-friendly version: bring one liter of water to a boil, add 60 grams of baking soda, and let it cool to room temperature. The baking soda method gives you a lighter color and milder flavor, but it's a respectable result and nobody will judge you for choosing it.

   If using food-grade lye, wear gloves and keep the solution away from aluminum, which it corrodes. Stainless steel, glass, and plastic are all fine. The 3% solution used here is standard bakery strength. Respect it, but don't fear it. Austrian bakers have been doing this for centuries.
6. 6

   Dip in the lye bath

   Preheat your oven to 220°C (fan-assisted) or 240°C (conventional). Line a fresh baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Take each chilled stick and lower it into the lye bath for 20 to 30 seconds, turning it once so every surface is coated. Lift it out with a slotted spoon or your gloved hands and place it on the prepared tray. The dough will feel slightly slippery. That's the alkaline solution doing its work on the surface proteins. When it hits the heat of the oven, those proteins will turn deep mahogany brown and develop that distinctive Laugengebäck flavor: malty, almost savory, with a faint bitterness that makes you reach for another bite.

7. 7

   Score and salt

   Using a sharp knife or a razor blade, make one long, confident slash down the center of each stick, about half a centimeter deep. Don't saw. One clean stroke. The cut will open in the oven and expose the pale, soft interior against the dark crust, which is half the beauty of a Laugenstangerl. Sprinkle coarse salt generously along the top of each stick. Press it in gently so it sticks. The salt is not decoration. It's the counterpoint to the malty sweetness of the crust.

8. 8

   Bake until mahogany

   Bake for 16 to 18 minutes. You want a deep, glossy mahogany brown, not golden, not tan. If they look like regular bread rolls, they're not done. The color should be dark enough to make you slightly nervous. That's when you know the Maillard reaction from the lye bath has done its job properly. The slash down the center should have opened wide, showing a pale, soft crumb inside. Pull them from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for just five minutes. Laugenstangerl are best eaten warm, when the crust still has its snap and the inside is soft and yielding. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Food-grade sodium hydroxide is available online from baking supply shops and some pharmacies. Look for it labeled as food-grade lye or Brezellauge. Do not use drain cleaner. I shouldn't have to say this, but I've been asked.
• •If you want the baking soda method to get closer to the real thing, bake your baking soda first. Spread it on a tray and bake at 120°C for one hour. This converts sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate, which is more alkaline and gives you a darker, more authentic crust. Let it cool completely before dissolving in water.
• •Laugenstangerl freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely, freeze in a single layer on a tray, then bag them. Reheat from frozen at 180°C for eight minutes. They come back nearly as good as fresh.
• •Gretel always said the best bread is the simplest bread. Don't add cheese, don't add herbs, don't add seeds to the top. Coarse salt. That's it. The lye crust is the flavor. Let it speak.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made the evening before. After shaping, cover the Stangerl tightly and refrigerate overnight. The slow cold rise deepens the flavor. Take them straight from the fridge to the lye bath the next morning.
• •The lye bath can be prepared up to a day ahead and stored in a clearly labeled, sealed container. Keep it out of reach of children and pets.
• •Baked Laugenstangerl are best within four hours. After that, the crust softens. Reheat briefly in a hot oven to restore the snap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 95g)