Sunday, February 13, 2011

Soft Salty Pretzels

This ain't no lazy Sunday for our household this week, no sirree bob!  WE are the proud new owners of an 11 week old Peek A Poo!  I got suckered in by his little face and the calming way he lay in the arms of the saleswoman, what was I thinking?!
We (Mr. BM) named him Dion.  Why Dion you ask?
Because you see, my fiance is slightly (yeah right - understatement) obsessed with the Atlanta Falcons football team and has wanted to name something after a teammate.  Since I told him that he would NOT be allowed to name our child after them, he got the next best thing.
Isn't he a cutie?
Not to sideline him already but this is a food blog not an "I Love My Dog" blog - although I am going to be making some home made doggie treats in the coming months so if you have any friends with dogs - have them come and check out the posts once up! If Dion likes it, I am sure others will too :)


Pretzels, lets get back to them....those hard salty shelled, soft centered doughy pieces of art. 
I guess when I think of dogs I think of ballpark franks and pretzels.  Not strange, when I think of snow I think of  mashed potatoes, snow cones and marshmallows too so I suppose its only natural that when I get a dog I want hot dogs?  Good thing I didn't fall in love with a wiener dog!!

This dough is pretty easy to work with and only takes about an hour to rise.  Total process before inserting in mouth = 1.5 hours


Pretzels
makes 15

1 1/2 c water, warmed to 110 degrees F
1 package dry active yeast
1 tsp. brown sugar
4 c. bread flour
4 tbsp. salted butter, melted
1 tbsp. dark corn syrup
2 tsp. salt
1 large egg white
1/4 c. baking soda
coarse salt for sprinkling

Coat a large bowl with olive oil and set aside.
In your mixing bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar.


Stir until yeast dissolves, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Add in the flour, butter, corn syrup, and salt.


Mix on speed 2 until ball forms on the dough hook - about 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes.  Have some flour on hand as you may need it if it becomes too sticky. 


The dough should be smooth and elastic once complete.
Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to the oiled bowl, coating all sides.
Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in volume - about 1 hour.  I usually put mine in the stove.



Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead for 5 minutes. Divide it into 15 two-ounce pieces. Form each piece into a ball, roll each ball out to a 1/2-inch-thick "rope", and twist each rope into a pretzel shape.
 


 
Cover and let rise for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg white, 1 tablespoon water, and the remaining salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Bring 4 cups of water and baking soda to a boil. Poach pretzels 2 at a time for 30 seconds on each side. Transfer pretzels to a parchment-lined baking pan, brush lightly with the egg-white mixture, and sprinkle with the coarse salt.
 

Bake until golden -- about 15 minutes.


Try to avoid eating them straight from the oven, you may receive third degree burns to the roof of your mouth if you don't wait a few minutes - from experience
 
This recipe was adapted from delish.com
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