Scarred For Life

Last Friday I made Pretzels and Laugenbrötchen (pretzel buns) which were really good (if I do say so myself) but the classic process of making these involves dipping the uncooked, shaped dough into a lye bath, then placing it back on your baking sheet before putting it in the oven.

Look what it did!

If I made these regularly would it burn through my pan? Probably not because somehow baking them renders the lye harmless, but still it's very weird to cook with something so caustic it can take the shine off your sheet pan!