Sunday, January 21, 2007

Pretzel Days...
About once a month, we bake pretzels on Sunday afternoon. We have nothing on the calendar for today, so this will be a pretzel day, I've decided. Once I've made two big pots of soup - chicken noodle for the omnivores and spicy black bean soup for the vegetarians - I will clean the kitchen and the fun will begin.

I will make a big double batch of pretzel dough, divide it by five and give everyone enough dough for several large pretzels. I'm the non-creative pretzel maker in the bunch, always trying to perfect a quick, simple twist into the perfect pretzel shape. The kids tend to use their imagination, creating various symbols and character. Little Tanka tends to make a lot of 'Snakes" or "blobs."

These are not your typical pretzel shop creations, golden and heavily salted, but they are fresh from the oven, made and home, and whole lot of fun!

Soft Pretzels (single recipe)


Ingredients


  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 egg
  • Salt for sprinkling on the pretzels
Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and flour, and mix until dough starts to form ball. Knead until perfectly smooth, on a floured surface. Roll into long strand and form pretzel or other shape. Place shaped dough on greased baking sheet.

Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

photo by Aisling, Fall 2006

2 comments:

Renee said...

I make my own bread quiet often. Yesterday I used 2 recipes: one with brown flour, one with white flour + dried raisins. Yet I never made my own pretzels although my youngest son is very fond of them. I think that I use your recipe. Thank you. You may enjoy to have a look at my own site, which is written both in French and English as I'm a French mother at home, loving crafts and writing.

Marcie said...

Renee, I hope your son enjoys the pretzels if you try them! I have looked at your site before, I think. My friend shared a link on an email group regarding some magnetic bookmarks you made, I believe. It seems like a very pretty, homey blog! This morning, the site would not open up for me - so I will try again soon. Thank you for visiting my Quiet Country Home!