Pretzels!

While at home Friday afternoon, I was inspired to whip up a batch of fresh pretzels. I can't tell you why or what might have given me this idea, and I've never actually made them before, but I do know that Matt enjoys, so I thought, why not? Plus, who doesn't love the smell of yeast rising and fresh bread baking in the oven?!

So, off to the computer to my reliable recipe resource, allrecipes.com, to find the easiest recipe for pretzels with hopefully the ingredients I already had in my cupboard (nothing worse than having your heart set on a recipe and you don't have the ingredients you need!). Turns out, there aren't that many ingredients . Along with the yeast, I even had coarse Sea Salt, which I substituted for the kosher salt, a full unopened container...what luck!

Baking something new for the first time really is kind of exciting, at least for me. It tests my culinary skills and always teaches me something in the end. I pulled out the mixing bowl (I can't wait until I have a kitchen large enough to keep my KitchenAid on the counter instead of hidden away in a cupboard...) and away we go!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45degrees C)
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups bread flour
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons kosher salt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat well. Beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a stiff dough is formed. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in volume.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Roll pieces out into long sticks and form into pretzel shape. Place pretzels on prepared baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with kosher salt.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

I actually ended up making 2 batches this time round. I had two different yeasts in the cupboard, and the first batch didn't turn out that great (a little on the dry side...). But instead of tossing it away, I continued as planned, forming them into the traditional pretzels while mixing up a second batch with the correct yeast. Plus, I also learned from the first batch that you might need a bit more water than the directions call for, so the second batch turned out a lot moister and easier to work with than the first.

The hardest part for me was waiting for the dough to rise! It was supposed to double in size before you started working with the dough, but I was anxious and just eye-balled it. But I soon learned after baking them that they continue to rise in the oven. So next time, I'll be a little bit more patient and wait for them to rise on their own. Regardless, they were still delicious! And Matt was pleasantly surprised to come home and find a bag full of homemade pretzels...mostly for him. I, of course, had to sample one or two to make sure that they were edible, after all...