Michi
I dislike attempts to rewrite history
See Part 1 of this recipe for how to actually bake Brezen.
Brezen require sodium hydroxide (lye) to make.
If you are worried about adding lye to food, it’s actually something that is perfectly edible (if heated enough) and has been used in baking for centuries. But lye is caustic, so you need to be reasonably careful when working with it.
The lye solution used for baking is quite mild. If you spill some on your hands, you won’t get an instant burn or anything like it. If you get some of it on your hands, it’s not a big deal; just wash it off with plenty of water. (You will know that it’s gone when you no longer feel any soapy slipperiness.) However, you most definitely do not want to get any into your eyes, mouth, nose, ears, etc. It’s a good idea to use eye protection when working with lye. It really is just common sense, in case that, say, a Brezen slips out of your hands and falls into the lye solution, sending droplets into the air.
Also, sodium hydroxide, which is used to make lye, is truly nasty stuff. It’s a white salt that is extremely caustic, and you really need to treat it with respect. (Sodium hydroxide crystals are used to clean blocked drains.) Rubber gloves, eye protection, and non-reactive (stainless steel or glass) containers are mandatory when you prepare lye. If you get any of the salt onto your skin, liberally wash with lots of water. If in doubt, neutralise with a little diluted vinegar or lemon juice as well.
Sodium hydroxide will corrode many materials, including stone, wood, metals, fabrics, a number of plastics, etc. Be careful not to spill any sodium hydroxide crystals anywhere. If you do, the crystals will start drawing moisture from the air and create an extremely corrosive solution. If you have a spill, you need to clean up very thoroughly. First get rid of as much of the dry salt as you can with a dustpan and brush; then clean up with lots of water (wearing rubber gloves), and neutralise with vinegar or lemon juice.
For Brezen, you need a 3.5% lye solution. That is 35 g of sodium hydroxide dissolved in 1,000 ml of water. 1 l to 1.5 l is plenty—you only need enough to be able to briefly submerge the shaped dough for three to five seconds. (I use a shallow Pyrex glass baking dish for this.) You don't need to be super-precise with the concentration—anything between 3% and 4% is fine.
When you mix your lye solution, always add sodium hydroxide to water. Never do it the other way around. (If you do, there is a real chance that you will have sodium hydroxide crystals and concentrated lye solution spattering everywhere.)
Add the salt to the water slowly, a little at a time. You will notice a fairly active reaction; you will get some foaming, and the water will heat up as the sodium hydroxide goes into solution. Just be patient and wait until things have settled down before adding a bit more salt. Once you have all the salt in the water, you will probably see a few crystals hanging around the bottom that haven’t dissolved yet. Just give it time, they will dissolve eventually. You can help things along by stirring with a stainless steel spoon or similar. Be sure to mix all this in a non-reactive container (glass or stainless steel).
To make lye, I use ordinary drain cleaner from the hardware store. I checked the MSDS for it, and it is 99.9% sodium hydroxide. The remaining 0.1% are impurities. (“Impurities” in this context means salt and baking soda, because these are by-products of making sodium hydroxide. It’s not as if “impurities” would mean that there is arsenic or lead in there…)
If you are worried about baking with drain cleaner, do a search for “food grade lye”. You’ll find plenty of suppliers online, including Amazon. (Realistically, what’s being sold as food-grade lye is most likely drain cleaner anyway. It’s just that it goes through a different control process.)
Once you have made your batch of Brezen, there is no need to flush the remainder down the drain. You can reuse the solution many times. The solution is best stored in a plastic container, but be aware that not all plastics are suitable. Polyethylene is a good plastic for storing lye, and milk bottles are commonly made out of it. Here is a good article that outlines the available options:
https://classicbells.com/soap/lyeStorage.asp
If you store your lye solution, please be sensible and keep it out of reach of children, and label it very clearly as toxic. If someone actually drank that stuff, that would truly be bad news!
Happy Brezen baking!
Brezen require sodium hydroxide (lye) to make.
If you are worried about adding lye to food, it’s actually something that is perfectly edible (if heated enough) and has been used in baking for centuries. But lye is caustic, so you need to be reasonably careful when working with it.
The lye solution used for baking is quite mild. If you spill some on your hands, you won’t get an instant burn or anything like it. If you get some of it on your hands, it’s not a big deal; just wash it off with plenty of water. (You will know that it’s gone when you no longer feel any soapy slipperiness.) However, you most definitely do not want to get any into your eyes, mouth, nose, ears, etc. It’s a good idea to use eye protection when working with lye. It really is just common sense, in case that, say, a Brezen slips out of your hands and falls into the lye solution, sending droplets into the air.
Also, sodium hydroxide, which is used to make lye, is truly nasty stuff. It’s a white salt that is extremely caustic, and you really need to treat it with respect. (Sodium hydroxide crystals are used to clean blocked drains.) Rubber gloves, eye protection, and non-reactive (stainless steel or glass) containers are mandatory when you prepare lye. If you get any of the salt onto your skin, liberally wash with lots of water. If in doubt, neutralise with a little diluted vinegar or lemon juice as well.
Sodium hydroxide will corrode many materials, including stone, wood, metals, fabrics, a number of plastics, etc. Be careful not to spill any sodium hydroxide crystals anywhere. If you do, the crystals will start drawing moisture from the air and create an extremely corrosive solution. If you have a spill, you need to clean up very thoroughly. First get rid of as much of the dry salt as you can with a dustpan and brush; then clean up with lots of water (wearing rubber gloves), and neutralise with vinegar or lemon juice.
For Brezen, you need a 3.5% lye solution. That is 35 g of sodium hydroxide dissolved in 1,000 ml of water. 1 l to 1.5 l is plenty—you only need enough to be able to briefly submerge the shaped dough for three to five seconds. (I use a shallow Pyrex glass baking dish for this.) You don't need to be super-precise with the concentration—anything between 3% and 4% is fine.
When you mix your lye solution, always add sodium hydroxide to water. Never do it the other way around. (If you do, there is a real chance that you will have sodium hydroxide crystals and concentrated lye solution spattering everywhere.)
Add the salt to the water slowly, a little at a time. You will notice a fairly active reaction; you will get some foaming, and the water will heat up as the sodium hydroxide goes into solution. Just be patient and wait until things have settled down before adding a bit more salt. Once you have all the salt in the water, you will probably see a few crystals hanging around the bottom that haven’t dissolved yet. Just give it time, they will dissolve eventually. You can help things along by stirring with a stainless steel spoon or similar. Be sure to mix all this in a non-reactive container (glass or stainless steel).
To make lye, I use ordinary drain cleaner from the hardware store. I checked the MSDS for it, and it is 99.9% sodium hydroxide. The remaining 0.1% are impurities. (“Impurities” in this context means salt and baking soda, because these are by-products of making sodium hydroxide. It’s not as if “impurities” would mean that there is arsenic or lead in there…)
If you are worried about baking with drain cleaner, do a search for “food grade lye”. You’ll find plenty of suppliers online, including Amazon. (Realistically, what’s being sold as food-grade lye is most likely drain cleaner anyway. It’s just that it goes through a different control process.)
Once you have made your batch of Brezen, there is no need to flush the remainder down the drain. You can reuse the solution many times. The solution is best stored in a plastic container, but be aware that not all plastics are suitable. Polyethylene is a good plastic for storing lye, and milk bottles are commonly made out of it. Here is a good article that outlines the available options:
https://classicbells.com/soap/lyeStorage.asp
If you store your lye solution, please be sensible and keep it out of reach of children, and label it very clearly as toxic. If someone actually drank that stuff, that would truly be bad news!
Happy Brezen baking!
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