Good morning, bakers. Today's the day. Two tracks, same destination: Yeasted with Poolish — if you started your poolish last night, you're on the dinner-ready timeline. Sourdough — longer build, deeper flavor. Worth the wait. Both recipes finish with the alkaline bath, that mahogany crust, and the snap that makes a pretzel loaf a pretzel loaf. Drop in the thread: - Where you are in the process - Photos as you go (poolish, dough, shaped, boiled, baked, sliced) - Questions, anytime. No question is too small. - Wins. Fails. Everything in between. Quick reminders: - Bread sling or parchment makes the boil-to-oven transfer way easier - Everything topping goes on right after the boil while the surface is wet, not after the bake - 4.7L water, 120g baking soda, rolling boil before you dunk - Watch the crust color, you want deep mahogany, not just brown Adjust to fit your kitchen: If the alkaline bath feels like a lot, or your pot's not big enough, or you're juggling one Dutch oven and trying to make it all work, split the dough into two smaller loaves. Smaller loaves are easier to handle in the bath, easier to bake, and just as tasty. Bake time will come down a bit, so watch the color and the internal temp. Adjust to the situation you're in. The recipe works for you, not the other way around. Both recipes are in the Recipe Pantry. Full video walk-through is on YouTube if you need a refresher. Let's bake. Perfection is not required. Progress is. ~ Henry ⭐🔥

Tomorrow is Pretzel Loaf Bake-Along day, and if you're on the yeasted poolish track, tonight is prep night. Here's what to do before bed. Your poolish is a 1:1:1 mix. Equal parts flour and water, plus a tiny pinch of instant yeast. About 0.1% of your flour weight. That's barely an eighth of a teaspoon for a typical batch. Mix it, cover it loosely, and let it sit at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. By morning, it should be bubbly, slightly domed, and just starting to dip in the middle. The smell will be sweet, yeasty, almost like fresh beer. If it's flat in the morning, it either needs more time or a warmer spot. Don't panic. Move it somewhere warmer and check again in an hour. Sourdough track bakers, build your levain tonight on your normal timing. If your starter's been a little sluggish this week, give it the strongest feeding you've given it all week. You want it climbing the jar by morning. Both tracks meet at the same dough stage tomorrow morning. From there, we're all baking together. Get your tools out tonight too. Bench scraper, scale, banneton, lame, bread sling parchment, slotted spider or pancake spatula as backup, butter ready to melt, everything seasoning in a bowl, Maldon salt nearby. The bath happens fast. You don't want to be hunting for tools when there's hot alkaline water on the stove. Read the cheat sheet one more time before you turn in. It's pinned at the top of the thread. Drop any last questions below. I'm watching the thread tonight. Yeasted recipe with a poolish: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/yeasted-pretzel-loaf-poolish?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share Sourdough recipe: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-pretzel-loaf?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share

Hey bakers. Henry here. Today we are tackling the alkaline bath. This is the most dangerous part of the bake, but it's also the exact step that makes this loaf a pretzel. If you've never done a pretzel bath before, I'm walking you through exactly how to execute it safely in our newest video. I'll cover the essential rules, including why you must add your baking soda slowly from the edge of the pot to prevent a volcano-like eruption, the importance of leaving a 2 to 3-inch safety buffer in your pot, and why you need to match your loaf size to your pot. Watch the video before you start, and don't forget to save and print the Alkaline Bath cheat sheet pinned at the top of the bake-along thread so you have it ready on your counter for Saturday morning. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Come bake with us! ~Henry ⭐🔥