Buttermilk Sandwich Bread

Tonight's the second night of Hanukkah, and while I may not be having my mom's crispy potato latkes, or sweet noodle kugel, there IS a brisket in the oven that's making the whole house smell like the holidays.

And no, I'm not making brisket sandwiches (not tonight anyway), so why I am going on and on about it in a post about bread? Because one of these fluffy loaves got packaged up and sent to my dad as his Hanukkah gift this year.

Now, both my parents love sweets, but I think I get my addiction to bread from my dad (don't worry Dad, I've totally forgiven you for the Atkins phase).

When I was in school in New York, I would try to send as many goodies back to my family as I could, although walking into FedEx with a lemon meringue pie wasn't exactly do-able. But probably the unit that bankrupted me in mailing fees the most was our bread unit.

I know my dad loves chocolate, and ice cream probably more than anything, but whenever I offer to bake and mail him something, he usually goes for something yeasty and carbo-loaded, preferably chocked full of whole grains, seeds, or sourdough. I looked through a lot of recipes before settling on this one, and I am so, so happy with how it turned out.

But I wasn't always so optimistic. I don't know if it was the volume of dough or its tougher than usual texture, but listening to my poor little kitchenaid mixer struggle through those first couple of minutes of kneading just made me sad, so I decided to roll up my sleeves and give it a rest and knead this dough by hand (see Dad, truly a labor of love!). It starts out pretty dry and not elastic at all, but 5 or 6 minutes of kneading later, you should have a softer, slightly more pliable dough. Mine was not as elastic as most other bread doughs I've made, and since this was my first time making it, I have no idea if that means something went wrong or not, but considering the end product, I don't really care.

Because what I sliced into on yesterday was perfect. The middle was light and fluffy, but the crust had just the right amount of chew. And the slight tang from the buttermilk reminded me so much of sourdough, that I knew instantly my dad would love it. This bread was so perfect I heated up the stove and made French Toast for breakfast. On a Tuesday.

Buttermilk Sandwich Bread
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 Tbsp instant yeast
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk at room temperature
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbsp honey
6 cups bread flour, divided
1 Tbsp kosher salt
egg wash (1 egg plus a splash of water or milk and a pinch of salt)
Sesame seeds for topping (optional)

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, melted butter, and honey. Add to the yeast mixture.
2. To the bowl, add 4 cups of flour and the salt. You can begin with the paddle on low speed to get the dough going, or simply take the dough hook in your hand and manually mix it until it just comes to together. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on low speed (no higher than 2) for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and a little elastic (This is a tough dough. It will not have the same elasticity of many other bread doughs). Alternately, knead the dough by hand for 5-6 minutes.
4. Transfer the dough to a well oiled bowl and cover lightly with oil-coated plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for about 75 minutes.
5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch the dough down. Divide it in half with a sharp knife or bench scraper. Shape each piece of dough into desired shapes (braided loafs, boules, etc.) If using a loaf pan, grease it lightly. Cover the loaves lightly with oiled plastic wrap and let rise again for another 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
6. Just prior to baking, brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake 45 minutes, or until the bread is a golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing. Store at room temperature, wrapped in paper not plastic.

Recipe slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

Potato Rolls with Compound Herb Butter

I've never made potato rolls before, so I was a little nervous to give these a shot, which was exacerbated by the fact that I was trying them out just hours before Thanksgiving dinner. What can I say, I make good choices.

But what I ended up with was a dream. A dinner roll so light, you'll have to weigh it down with a tablespoon of butter just so it doesn't float off your plate. And no, we're not talking plain butter from the fridge. I mean butter that's had a night full of bad choices and is knocked up with flavor.

What, too far?

Fine, let's focus on the rolls. These potato rolls are impossibly light and fluffy. Almost too light. Looking at them, you expect there to be a thin crust, or that they'll have a slight chew to them, but no, you'll have to actually check and make sure you took a bite and aren't just chewing on air. You bite into an incredibly soft, tight crumb, a perfect vehicle for herbacious, savory herb butter.

In terms of prep, I found that this dough needed a lot of time to rise. Recipe says 60-90 minutes? I needed the full 90. And for that first hour, I was white knuckling it, trying not to stare at the dough and will it to rise with the power of my mind, because I did not have a backup plan and these needed to beat out the reigning Thanksgiving favorite- popovers.

In my mind, there was no contest. Popovers are too eggy for my taste (and come with their own nail biting moments), and rolls just felt right this year. These would make the perfect addition to any dinner, not just a holiday. They're a great, classic, satisfying dinner roll. Made even better with some pumped up butter!

Potato Rolls
Yield 16-18 rolls

Ingredients
1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp., plus 1 tsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup reserved potato water
1/2 package (1 1/8 tsp) active dry yeast
2 1/2 - 3 cups bread flour
Compound Herb Butter (recipe below)

Directions
1. Boil potato until tender. Drain but reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add 1 tsp of sugar to cooking liquid and set aside. Mash cooked potato with a fork and measure out 1/2 cup. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Transfer the cooled potato to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add remaining 2 Tbsp sugar, butter, honey, salt, and egg. Mix on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
3. Combine the milk and potato water and heat (I microwaved) until at least 105 degrees, but no hotter than 115. Add the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Pour yeast mixture into potato mixture and mix on low until incorporated. Switch to the dough hook and begin adding the flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing no higher than speed 2, adding more flour as necessary to achieve a soft, slightly tacky dough. Continue to mix until a small pinch of dough can be stretched paper thinly without immediately tearing, 5-7 minutes.
5. Transfer dough to a well oiled bowl and cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot and let rise for 75-90 minutes.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, divide the dough in quarters. Cut each quarter into 4 pieces and shape each piece into rolls. Place onto the prepared baking sheet and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. Sprinkle rolls with a dusting of flour and let rise again, another 45 minutes. It's completely fine if the rolls grow into each other. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly golden brown. Serve warm with herb butter.

Recipe adapted from The Boastful Baker



Compound Herb Butter
Ingredients:
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped (basil, rosemary, flat leaf parsley, etc.)

Directions:
In the bowl of a small food processor (or by hand with a fork), combine all ingredients. Pulse until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer butter to a sheet of plastic wrap, cover, and roll into a log. Store in the freezer long-term, or the refrigerator short-term. Remove from the fridge for 10-15 minutes before serving to allow it to soften slightly. Serve alongside your favorite dinner roll.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

I was extra productive today. I got up at 8:00 and worked until about 1:00. I came home and gave our front steps a makeover. By which I mean I threw away the long dead plants that were flanking our front door and moved the still alive (for now) mums from the back deck to the front steps so they can live happily with the pumpkins we got from Ashland Berry Farm last weekend.

THEN I went to the grocery store and bought things I've never bought before cough*marshmallow fluff*cough, after which I came home, ate lunch, and made bread.

No, I didn't use my sourdough starter. But I did use cinnamon-sugar. And butter. Plenty of butter.

Lest you think everything I did today was productive, I also watched the Real Housewives of NJ reunion, Part I. Who would have thought Theresa would become the new Danielle?! I also video chatted with my sister's new puppy. Hi Buffy!

So, here's the thing. This Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread? Well, it didn't look so pretty. But it tasted so so good. I probably shouldn't have jammed so many of the square of dough in there because as they expanded they sort of snaked around the loaf pan instead of staying in a nice neat line.

See? What a mess. But here's the lesson- just because something doesn't come out perfectly, doesn't mean it's a complete failure (something it's taken me my whole life to learn). I mean, how can this much yeasty, buttery, cinnamon-sugary dough be bad?

Let me tell you, it's not. It is dangerously, addictively good. The kind of good where you find yourself standing at the kitchen counter peeling off just one more layer. No, just one more. One more!

I don't know what was better, the crunchy sugary top, or the gooey sweet bottom. Wait! I have it. It's dipping the crunchy top in the leftover gooey caramel in the loaf pan. Ugh, genius.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
Yield: one loaf

Ingredients:
For the dough:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp bread flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one envelope)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

For the filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
1. In a small sauce pot, combine the butter and milk over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and add the water and vanilla extract. Let cool to 115-125 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the warm milk mixture and mix just until the dough starts to come together. Add the eggs and 3/4 cup flour. With the dough hook, mix the dough on low speed until it is cohesive and a bit sticky, about 2 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to a large well oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Place in a warm spot and let rise for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
4. Punch down the dough and turn onto a floured board. Add the last remaining 2 Tbsp of flour and knead into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest while you prepare the filling. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and melt the butter in a small bowl (I microwaved it for 30 seconds). Grease a 9x5'' loaf pan with butter and flour or non-stick cooking spray.
5. Roll out your dough into a large rectangle, approximately 12x20''. Brush the melted butter over dough so it is covered completely. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough. Use all of it!
6. Cut the dough width-wise into 6 equal strips (so you'll have short strips instead of long ones).

Stack all the strips on top of one another.

Cut into 6 equal slices again.

Pick up each little dough square package and place them in the prepared loaf pan, cut side up.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the loaf pan in a warm place and cover with a greased piece of plastic wrap. Let the dough rise another 30-40 minutes.
8. Bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes, until the top edges are medium brown and the butter bubbles around the slices. Allow to cool 20-30 minutes and then unmold. Serve warm or room temperature.

Recipe Notes:

• I chose to use bread flour because I have an abundance of it, but you can use all-purpose instead.
• Discard any squares of dough that don't fit comfortably in the loaf pan to avoid it expanding and mis-shaping (I probably should have left out at least 4).
• The top of the bread will cook much faster than the center so don't be afraid to allow it to get a nice deep brown. You can cover it in foil and continue to bake even longer if the center still seems raw.

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Pain de Provence

On my sourdough starter's fifth birthday (I should really give it a name if I'm going to be talking about it this much, shouldn't I? Any suggestions?), I finally used it to bake bread.

Here's how it looked when I uncovered it to get started:

Day 5

As you can see, there was a lot less Hooch on top, which I was happy to see. I felt like I was doing something wrong with it producing so much. The consistency was still that of very thick pancake batter, but that's pretty much what we're going for.

I chose not to do a plain, basic sourdough just because I wanted something a little more exciting. The recipe I used was from my collection from school, so the ingredient amounts are in weight (sorry about that). I really love the addition of herbs to bread doughs though; it makes them so yummy and savory.

After I removed the amount of starter I needed, I replaced it with double the amount of flour and warm water (so if you remove a cup of starter, add back a cup each of water and flour), stirring to incorporate. I then wrapped it loosely in plastic and put it in the fridge for long-term storage.

Thanks to the bread hook for my mixer, kneading the dough was a breeze. I know all bread recipes tell you how long you should knead bread, and that's definitely a good guideline, but what you really want to do is check for a window.

Wait, what the wha?

Ok, if you're not into bread baking just skip down and look at all the pretty pictures of the dough rising because this will sound a little crazy and strange. Pulling a window is a way to test if your dough is done kneading and ready to start rising. With slightly greased fingers, pull off a little section of your dough. Avoid the dough hook or you'll lose those fingers. Kidding; turn the machine off. Hold that little piece of dough up to the light (perhaps a...window? What, too far?) and stretch it gently. If it pulls right apart, it's not ready yet. Keep kneading. But, if you can stretch it GENTLY so that it becomes very thin (thin enough that you can see light through about an inch of it) BEFORE it tears, the gluten has developed fully and you're ready to let the dough rise.

*Crickets, crickets*

Look! Dough!

In a nicely oiled bowl. Another tip: if you're covering your dough with plastic wrap (which I recommend rather than a dishtowel), spray the underside of the plastic with non-stick spray so your dough won't stick to it.

And 45 minutes later, BOOM

It's rising. Time to beat it up a little. Show it who's boss. But first, do yourself a favor and oil your hand. I didn't. I regretted it.

Another 45 minutes and wah la!

Now, turn this dough out onto a floured board. This dough is a little sticky. Don't be shy with the flour.

Cut it in half. Yes, cut it! Don't pull it. You'll tear all those gluten strands apart. Use a scale if you want to be fancy. And even. And precise. Or just wing it. Totally cool too.

Shape each into a puffy ball. I just love the way yeasted dough feels in your hands. So puffy! Let these proof for another 10 minutes.

You don't need a fancy french silpat. You can totes use parchment paper. Or just lots of Pam.

Now, silly me. I decided these were going to expand so much in the oven, that I decided they couldn't share a sheet pan. So I transferred one to another sheet pan. Then, and here's the fatal flaw, I didn't let it rise again. I just slashed it a few times and sprayed it with water, and popped it in the oven.

You see the problem was that as I moved the dough, I deflated it (just like when you punch it down as it's rising). I should have let it rise again before I baked it, but I didn't. So I got one lovely round loaf. And one sort of sad, flat one.

 Whoops. 

Be sure to let your bread cool completely before you cut into it or put it away to store it. The best way to store bread is in paper, not plastic. Don't wrap it in plastic wrap (ever, really), especially if it's still warm. Wrap it in some parchment or put it in a paper grocery bag. Bread also freezes really well, in which case you can put it in a plastic bag, but make sure it's 100% cool first!

So we've made it this far and I haven't even told you how it tasted. Was all this effort even worth it? I say yes, for the smell alone that wafted into the kitchen for the 20 minutes the dough was in the oven. But also for the taste and texture, which was so fresh, and so herbacious and delicious. I'm a little disappointed to admit that I didn't really get that sour tang I was expecting from the sourdough starter. I'm thinking that may be because it was still so "young," and the more it ages, the better the flavor it imparts will be.

Good thing it's taken up residence in the back of my fridge. Any takers for a "starter sitter" if I go away on vacation in the near future?

*crickets, crickets* 

Pain de Provence
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:
300 g warm water, 105-115 degrees F
3.5 g active dry yeast or 10 g fresh compressed yeast
pinch granulated sugar
500 g bread flour
200 g sourdough starter
7-10 g salt
3 g herbes de Provence
150 g oil-cured olives, whole; green or black, pitted

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar. Once it bubbles, add flour, starter, and herbs.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, knead dough on speed one or two for 5-7 minutes, or until the dough is close to finished kneading.
3. Add salt and continue to knead until the gluten is fully developed, another 3 minutes, or until you can pull a window. Fold olives in by hand.
4. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Place in a warm spot (75-80 degrees F) and proof 45 minutes.
5. Punch down the dough, folding it over in the bowl to redistribute the yeast. Cover again and proof another 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Turn the dough onto a well-floured bowl. Cut in half. Form each piece of dough into a ball and bench rest for 5-10 minutes.
7. Shape into final loaf shape, boules or batards. Place on a sheet pan. Proof 10-15 minutes.
8. Slash the top of the dough with a sharp paring knife. Hide any exposed olives by pinching the dough over them. Spray with water.
9. Bake the loaves for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 475 degrees F. Bake another 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, and until loaves reach an internal temperature of 210 degrees F.
10. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature in paper.

Sourdough Starter, Part II

Yup, we're back talking about yeast again. Are you ready? It's going to be a good time.

I began my own sourdough starter after Dan made a request for fresh bread. I flipped through some of my recipes from school, but so many of the ones I wanted to make needed a starter. At school, we simply went down the hall to the Bread kitchen and pilfered some of theirs. Clearly without this convenience I just couldn't proceed. Until Dan of course suggested I just make my own. Always thinking, that one.

So I did a little research and that's what I did!

I chose to use some active dry yeast to get things started. It's important to use a container that is big enough so your starter doesn't overflow, and also to use something either glass or ceramic (no plastic or metal). I used a casserole dish, probably 4-5 quarts in volume. I mixed all the ingredients together, getting something similar to bubbly pancake batter, covered it with a dishtowel and left it to rest out of the way on top of the fridge. And that was it. Simple enough.

 Day 1, Just Mixed

About 24 hours later, I took down the dish for a peek. Something was definitely happening. It smelled strongly of alcohol, very similar to beer. There was a lot of liquid floating on top. This alcoholic by-product is called Hooch and is totally normal. You have two choices: you can either stir it back into your starter, or pour it out. I gave mine a stir and saw that the whole mixture was very wet, so I poured some of the hooch down into the sink. And back onto the fridge it went, still covered with a dishtowel.

 Day 2

The next day, Day 3, the starter looked basically the same. More Hooch had accumulated, so again, I poured it away. This time though, I replaced the lost amount with additional flour and warm water, a cup of each. Again, I gave everything a stir and put it back in its resting place.

 Day 3

On day four, I forgot to take a picture. But it looked basically the same as day three. The process was essentially the same as well. Poured off the hooch, replaced it with flour and warm water. This was the day that Dan chimed in about the smell.

"It smells like warm beer."
Does that smell different than cold beer?
"It's like day old beer. Like 'wounded soldier.' You can quote me on that."

A "wounded soldier," for all of you who don't live in a frat house, is a half-empty beer left over from the night before that's been sitting out on the coffee table/kitchen counter/front porch and is thus, room temperature and completely flat.

On Day 5, I made bread. Don't worry, that post will be coming soon!

Sourdough Starter

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour
2 tsp granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F)
Directions:

1. Choose a container that is made of either glass or ceramic. Be sure it is thoroughly clean and that it can hold at least 2 quarts.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, and yeast. Stir in the warm water, forming a thin paste. No need to get all the lumps out. Cover with a dishcloth and place in a draft-free area that stays around 70-80 degrees F.
3. For the next four or five days, stir your starter once a day. It will start to look bubbly, which means the yeast is feeding and giving off carbon dioxide (good!). Once this happens, you can start feeding your starter.
4. Pour off any excess liquid or Hooch (or stir it back into the starter if your starter is a little dry).
5. If you choose to continue to store your starter at room temperature, it must be fed daily. Remove one cup of starter and replace it with one cup of warm water and one cup of flour. Keep covered with a dishtowel.
6. If you choose to transfer your starter to the fridge after the initial 4-5 day period, if must be fed twice a month. When you are ready to use a refrigerated starter, first let it sit at room temperature over night. Feed it with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water and again, let it sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight. Then, it is ready to use!

Recipe Source: whatscookingamerica.net

Sourdough Starter, an Introduction

One of my chef-instructors told us the story of a famous restaurant that had been around for decades, and was in need of some renovations. During construction, in order to preserve their unique sourdough starter that had been around for as long as the restaurant had, the head chef divided it in half and gave each half to a different sous chef. That way, if one of the sous chefs killed their half (and was subsequently fired, no doubt), the other half would still have a chance at survival.

You see, sourdough starters are serious business.

Let me back up a little. A loaf of sourdough bread has three ingredients: flour, water, and yeast. But so does ciabatta. And a French baguette. So what gives sourdough that distinctive sour tang that hits your tongue when you bite into a nice, hearty piece? That's all thanks to an aged pre-ferment known as a sourdough starter or liquid levain.

Sourdough starters are essentially a forum for wild yeast to gather and grow. In order for them to thrive, they must be fed on a regular basis and with proper care, they can survive for years. Kind of like a dog. Or a child. The longer they survive, the more depth of flavor they will impart to a loaf of bread.

There are two basic ways to make a starter. For either, you combine warm water and flour. Then, you can either add in active dry yeast, or you can simply wait for wild yeast to flock to your creation. Either way, as the starter ages, wild yeast will eventually begin to collect, and different locales will foster different kinds of wild yeast. So, sourdough bread in New York may taste completely different than sourdough bread in Paris, even though the ingredients and method are exactly the same. San Francisco supposedly has some of the best wild yeast in the country.

So why am I telling you all of this? Because I've been feeding one for the past three days. Stay tuned!

Homemade Pizza Crust

Ok people, it's time to get serious. About pizza.

Are you making your own pizza? You should be. When we were little, my dad would buy pre-baked Bobolli pizza crusts, and we would add the sauce, cheese, and toppings (more cheese for my sister, pepperoni for me. What can I say, we were adventurous eaters). And we loved it. But, it was just barely homemade. The crust was already baked. The sauce was from a jar. But putting it together ourselves made it 100% delicious.

But now, it's time to do it up right. With homemade pizza crust. This dough is so easy to make, I'm not taking any excuses from you. Afraid of using yeast? Don't be. All you have to do is buy it and measure it. That's it! No need to dissolve it in water that's the perfect temperature or look for bubbling, or anything. Even better, this is a Jim Lahey recipe which means there's no kneading required. Seriously, what are you waiting for? It's so quick to pull together, you can do it during the first two commercial breaks of The Rachel Zoe Project. I did.

Pizza Crust
Yield: Dough for 2 large or 4 small thin crust pizzas

Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 tsp granulated sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/3 cups room temperature water

Directions:
1. Mix together flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add water and mix either with the paddle of an electric mixer or by hand. If using a mixer, finish by hand so you don't overmix. Mix until the dough comes together into a loose ball and few dry bits are left in the bottom of the bowl, about 1 minute. The dough will be stiff and a little dry, not wet and sticky.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in size, about two hours.
4. Divide the dough in half (for two pizzas that will serve 4-5) or into four equal pieces (for smaller pizzas that will serve just 2) and shape into flattened discs. Either wrap and freeze the discs or prepare to bake. (To defrost from frozen, let thaw in the fridge overnight.)
5. Preheat oven to 500 Fahrenheit. Roll/stretch out one disc of dough and place on a greased sheet pan (For the larger pizza, it should fill almost the whole sheet pan). Top with whatever your heart desires! Brush any exposed crust with olive oil and Italian seasonings. Bake at 500 for 15-20 minutes.

We topped ours with mozzarella, feta, pepperoni, green bell pepper, garlic, red onion, caramelized onions, and artichoke hearts and it was A-MAZING. My favorite part: the feta. Seriously, try it. You won't be sorry.

Recipe courtesy of DALS

Soft Pretzels

I'm still in a bit of a mood after having to redesign my blog and having so many problems doing so, but I think I've finally gotten it the way I want it, and now I'm just working on some minor formatting issues that will hopefully be resolved by the time I publish this post. Unfortunately, my camera was still channeling Picasso when I took these pictures, so it was still in its Yellow Period. I think I've finally fixed it though, so stay tuned for less jaundiced pictures, hopefully coming soon.

I know I've turned my focus to desserts, but I kept coming across these soft pretzel recipes on a lot of the food blogs I read. Technically, pretzels aren't dessert (unless you dip them in chocolate frosting or sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar. Yum!), but they still require baking, so I'm making an exception. I've been lusting over pictures of homemade bread and bagels, and especially homemade pizza dough, on a lot of other food blogs, but I'm missing a few key components that make all of those recipes possible: a dough hook for my mixer and a baking stone.  So although I would love to experiment with all kinds of dough, I decided for my first baking attempt with yeast dough, soft pretzels sounded quick, easy, and most importantly, delicious.

Unfortunately, my pretzels came out with a bit of an inferiority complex. I tried to tell them size doesn't matter, but there was only so much I could do; clearly they are much smaller than your average soft pretzel, but who doesn't love mini food?! They're like little baby pretzels. Plus, you can totally get away with eating two of them at a time and not feel guilty about it, right? Right??

I think the size problem likely has more to do with the yeast I used and less to do with the recipe itself. Although I checked the expiration date on the yeast and it was still months away, it had been hanging around the kitchen for a while and may have just been too old to really be active. It did smell yeasty and seemed to bubble after letting it sit with the warm water and sugar, but after looking at some pictures on other blogs of what active yeast should look like at this stage, I think mine was probably a bit too elderly. I guess I'll have to make this recipe again with yeast I know is fresh, for research purposes, of course. And while I'm at it, I might as well experiment with more toppings and flavorings, too. Cinnamon Sugar? Garlic? Parmesan cheese? Nom, nom, nom.

Size aside, these pretzels had the perfect flavor, exactly what you would expect from any soft pretzel. They were doughy, a little sweet, but also nice and salty. The outside had a prefect soft crust, and the inside dough was even softer, tender, just a little chewy, and completely satisfying. I dipped mine in some yellow mustard which made it even more delicious. I loved the salty crunch of the coarse kosher salt, and probably would have added even more than I did since I like my pretzels extra salty. The bottoms burned slightly, but I think that may have been a defect of the pan or my oven, or maybe because I used parchment paper as opposed to a silpat. The pretzels themselves didn't taste overdone, and even the browned bottoms hardly made a difference in taste, so I don't think it had anything to do with the baking time. This is a great basic starter recipe for easy and quick soft pretzels.

Soft Pretzels

Yield: 6 Pretzels

Source: www.sugarlaws.com

Ingredients

1 tsp active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp baking soda
1 cup hot water (as hot as your tap can get)

Kosher salt

Directions
1. Dissolve yeast into water with a pinch of sugar, let stand 10 minutes, until the mixture is creamy colored. 

2. Mix the yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt and canola oil, and knead until combined (a few minutes, not even 5).

3. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

 Hmm, looks much the same...

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough has risen, pinch off a handful and roll it out into a long strand. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough, about 6 times.

5. Once all the strands are rolled out, pick up the first one and stretch it out again (the gluten will have relaxed and it should stretch further now). Twist it into a pretzel shape and place it on a baking sheet lined with silipat or cooking spray. Repeat with the rest of the strands.

6. Dissolve baking soda into hot water and stir until dissolved. Quickly dip each rolled pretzel into the mixture and place it back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle all the pretzels with kosher salt, to your preference. 

7. Bake for about 8 minutes, until pretzels have browned.

Best eaten the day they're made.

Next Indulgence: Black-Bottom Cupcakes