Recent Baking

So far this hasn't been much of a cooking blog. And well, I guess that's because I don't create a lot of meals. Like I do with crocheting, I like to find the directions for how to make something, get started and then promptly do my own thing. So in the end, I'm not so much creating as modifying other people's recipes.

One of the recipes my hubby tried recently is worth sharing here. He made some AMAZING soft pretzels. Seriously, these were delish (especially lightly salted with nacho cheese sauce for dipping). Here's the recipe (exactly as we/he made them)-

DOUGH
3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup (8 ounces) water

TOPPING
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
pretzel salt

DIRECTIONS
Mix and knead the dough ingredients together—by hand, mixer, or machine—till the dough is cohesive and fairly smooth. It should be slightly sticky; if it seems dry, sprinkle it with a tablespoon or two of water. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, fold it over a few times to gently deflate it, then divide it into six pieces, each weighing about 3 1/4 ounces. Roll each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope.

In a shallow bowl, mix together the water, sugar and baking soda. Shape each rope into a pretzel, and dip in the baking soda solution; this will help the pretzels brown. Sprinkle with pretzel salt if desired, and bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and serve warm. Yield: 6 large pretzels.

The credit for this recipe goes to King Arthur Flour (sidenote: have you heard of this flour company before? Where'd he find this, I wonder?). And here's a link for these guys. Yum!