yummy pretzels
this recipe comes courtesy of king arthur flour and is my first "double" challenge entry in the daring bakers.
this was a wonderful and easy recipe to work with, i didn't need to do much to adapt it to our family. the changes i made? first off i made two batches, because i had a feeling 8 wouldn't be enough...especially because i was also choosing to make a cinnamon-sugar version...my only other adaptation...besides using a vegan butter.
so how did i do it?
step 1:
well the first step is to mix all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a mixer until well combined. in all the bread baking i've been doing the last few months i've learned that salt kills yeast so i first placed about half of the flour into the bowl, added the yeast, covered the yeast with the rest of the flour and then proceeded to add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl. this way the salt and yeast don't come in contact (at least in my head they don't...until its time).

this is what my dough looked like before kneading after mixing until well combined.
afterwards...knead for about 5 minutes...
the dough transforms into a smooth and soft dough with a lot of "slack" to it. i had a lot of fun passing it from one hand to another.
step 2:
flour the dough and put it into a greased bowl covered with a greased piece of plastic wrap...let it rest for 30 minutes.

this is my dough ball "before" the 30 minute rest.

this is my dough ball "after" the 30 minute rest...completely filling the bowl.
step 3:
afterwards, divide the dough into eight equal portions, make sure to lightly grease your surface and your cutting tool. for "cutting" my dough i used the side of my large off-set spatula...and it worked like a charm. according to my scale...i had equal portions of 2.4 ounces each.
the easiest way to cut the dough i've found is to first split it in half, then split those halves in half (making four) and then splitting those four pieces in half (making 8). at this point you can start measuring the dough balls and adding and subtracting here and there as needed.
allow the pieces to rest about 5+ minutes. this is important, if the dough doesn't rest enough, when you try to roll the dough out into ropes the dough will "snap back" and not want to stretch. when this happens the dough starts to tear...and i'm not exactly sure why, but i know you don't want that.

equal portions of dough...resting
step 4:
time to get to shaping. if your area is lightly greased this shall be a fun step. roll your dough out to about 28-30 inches long. the longer i find the better...as it allows you to shape a pretzel with larger "windows," which is a good thing because as they rest/rise and then bake those nice little holes/windows will close up.
during this stage you are also instructed to do a baking soda wash. i could not for the life of me get the baking soda to disolve fully in the water...i tried and tried and it didn't work...i didn't want spatchy pretzels, not to mention when i tried dipping them it became a mess...so only two got dipped and i just forged ahead...the wash just gives them a nice browning...that i felt i could do without and also the salt. so my pretzels got shaped and placed right on the baking sheet. this is important, as i found that you don't want to move the shaped pretzels too much, if at all...they easily loose there shape.
rolling the dough:
there are two ways in my eyes to roll the dough. one way is to roll the dough on the table (make sure it is lightly greased) starting from the center out. and the second way is to hold it between your palms and roll it.

rolling it between my palms...
after rolling it...shape it into a pretzel. this is easy to do, but hard to explain...
the easiest thing i can tell you is that if you hold both ends of the rope,one in each hand, the middle point is the bottom "v" of the pretzel, the ends then come up as if to make a heart, wrap around each other and then "stick" down to each side of the pretzel.
next, let the pretzels rise for about 10 minutes...then bake them for about 8-9 minutes in a 500 degree (preheated) oven.
lastly...you want to really butter these babies down...use all the butter...as that is what really kicks off the flavor...if your making cinnamon/sugar, roll the buttered pretzels in the cinnamon sugar..
enjoy!

my love affair with mustard continues...
these were excellant and really easy to make...the quick rising time makes them doable even if you need them in a jiffy...they also go great with soup...ask me i know!
try em' you won't be disappointed.
happy baking!
paz,
ki





















