What is lye bread?

Lye rolls are a baked specialty in Germany (especially in Bavaria and Swabia), France (Alsace), Austria, and Switzerland. They are made by immersing bread rolls in a lye solution before baking. The German name is Laugengebäck for any baked good dipped in lye.

What is lye in food?

Lye — also known as sodium hydroxide — is an alkaline compound used in everything from manufacturing (cleaning supplies, dyes, aluminum, paper) to food production (pretzels, cured fish, olives, hominy).

What is lye made of?

Lye is a general term for two different alkaline compounds known as Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and Potassium Hydroxide (KOH). They are both metal hydroxides and basic alkaline, so they have a very high pH.

Is lye in food bad for you?

Lye water (sometimes called 'Lime Water') is a strong (caustic) liquid that is safe to use in very small amounts in cooking, but it can be dangerous if lye water is swallowed undiluted straight from the bottle. It can cause severe corrosive burns to the throat, oesophagus and stomach with permanent damage if swallowed.

Is baking soda and lye the same thing?

Originally Answered: Is baking soda same as lye? No. baking soda is sodium (hence the "soda" in the name) bicarbonate (NaHCO3), while lye (also known as "caustic soda") is sodium hydroxide (NaOH).

Sodium Hydroxide? More Than A Little White Lye. WTF - Ep. 142

Are bagels dipped in lye?

After the bagels are rolled and shaped, they ferment in the refrigerator for another 20 hours. And he uses a secret ingredient: lye, or sodium hydroxide, in the water, a chemical base used for boiling pretzels, making soap and cleaning drains (that last phrase being one you don't want to see in a sentence about food).

What is a natural substitute for lye?

Baked Baking Soda! A common home alternative to lye when making pretzels or bagels is to use a baking soda solution.

Why do murderers use lye?

Due to its low cost and easy availability, it has also been used to dispose of corpses by criminals. Italian serial killer Leonarda Cianciulli used this chemical to turn dead bodies into soap. In Mexico, a man who worked for drug cartels admitted to having disposed of more than 300 bodies with it.

Why dip pretzels in lye?

An alkaline bath is what makes a pretzel a pretzel and not just a tanned twist of dough. The base reacts with proteins, sugars, and starches at the pretzel's surface to intensify browning and give the skin its tight, glossy sheen. It also imparts that saline, mineral flavor.

How does lye affect humans?

Contact with very high concentrations of sodium hydroxide can cause severe burns to the eyes, skin, digestive system or lungs, resulting in permanent damage or death. Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause dermatitis. Repeated inhalation of sodium hydroxide vapor can lead to permanent lung damage.

Is there lye in Dove soap?

Yes, Dove is made with lye!

Why is it called lye?

Caustic soda is an alkali salt which is also called Lye. It is the common name of sodium hydroxide. This name is given due to the corrosive nature of this salt on animal and plant tissues.

What makes lye safe to eat?

If you were still worried about accidentally poisoning yourself after baking, know that lye reacts with carbon dioxide from the heat in the oven and forms a carbonate, according to The Kitchn, making the lye safe and the baked goods totally safe to eat (as long as you used a diluted enough lye solution in the first ...

Is lye a carcinogen?

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the EPA have not classified sodium hydroxide for carcinogenicity in humans.

Is all lye food grade?

Pure lye is by itself always food grade. There is nothing toxic about lye (although it's corrosive even at low-ish concentrations). When a manufacturer sells you food grade lye, they are guaranteeing you that it is not contaminated with anything unpleasant.

Is it safe to eat lye on pretzels?

Most bakers use food-grade lye, which is the chemical equivalent of drain cleaner, but is produced and packaged in a clean, regulated way. Since the lye dip is heavily diluted and the pretzel is baked after dipping, it won't kill you.

Why is lye added to noodles?

description. Food grade lye water is a potent liquid alkaline used to make traditional ramen noodles, giving them their springy texture. It also helps to prevent them from disintegrating in the broth.

Do mall pretzels use lye?

Most pretzels in the world are made with lye, which gives pretzels their chewy, brown crust. However, mall-style pretzels are not. The main reason for this is that lye can be a bit dangerous for people who aren't careful to handle.

What is the white powder they put on dead bodies?

That white powder you see on carcasses is lime, which is used as a last resort for helping reduce the smell of a rotting animal.

Can you survive drinking lye?

Swallowing sodium hydroxide may cause severe burns in the mouth, throat and stomach. Severe scarring of tissue and death may result. Symptoms of eating or drinking sodium hydroxide may include bleeding, throwing up or diarrhea. A drop in blood pressure may also occur.

Is it lye or lime on dead bodies?

The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses. It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.

Is there lye in Dawn dish soap?

Modern Dish Soap is Incredibly Gentle

When soap is made safely and correctly, there is no residual Lye in the final product after a chemical reaction process called saponification.

What household items contain lye?

Sodium hydroxide is found in some household cleaners, such as drain cleaners, and oven cleaners. It is also used in preparation of homemade soaps, and to clean wood (such as decks) before painting.

What does vinegar do to lye?

It's true that vinegar can neutralize lye, but it generates heat as a by-product. This is called an exothermic reaction. You see, while lye is a strong alkaline, vinegar is a fairly weak acid. White vinegar, for example, is only about 5% to 10% acetic acid.

Why is there a hole in the middle of a bagel?

Ever wondered why bagels have holes in the middle? The basic shape is hundreds of years old and serves lots of practical advantages besides an even cooking and baking of the dough. The hole also allowed them to be threaded or piled high on a dowel which made them easier to transport and display.