Soft Pumpkin Pretzels

Soft Pumpkin Pretzels

1 1/4 cup warm water plus up to 1/4 more as needed
1 teaspoon unbleached granulated sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup atta flour (whole wheat chapati flour)
1 teaspoon olive oil
kosher salt, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds for garnish

For Boiling:
8 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda

1. In a big bowl dissolve the sugar in 1 1/4 cups warm-to-the- touch water.

2. Add the yeast and let sit a few minutes until the yeast "blooms."

3. Stir in the canned pumpkin.

4. Stir in the flours and salt and mix to form a dough. If the dough seems too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until it comes together--you should be OK without it.

5. Hand knead for ten minutes, or five minutes in a mixer with a dough hook.

6. Put the olive oil in a big bowl and turn the dough around in the oil until the sides of the bowl are oiled and the dough is covered in a light film.

7. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled about 50 minutes.

8. Preheat oven to 475F.

9. In a pot with high sides (the water will foam up once the pretzels are added), bring 8 cups of water to a boil with the baking soda.

10. Divide the dough into six even pieces. One by one, carefully roll them into a coil that is 19" long and about 3/4-1" thick. Carefully twist each rope into a pretzel shape and pinch the ends of the rope to the body of the pretzel so they stay in place.

11. Boil three pretzels at a time for one minute, flip over with tongs and boil the second side for another minute.

12. Place on a Silpat or greased cookie sheet and lightly blot off any foam with a towel.

13. Quickly sprinkle with seeds and salt so they stick to the moist dough.

14. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until deeply browned on top.

HARD PRETZELS

HARD PRETZELS

1 yeast cake
1 1/4 c. water, warm
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
4 c. flour
1 egg, beaten
Coarse salt


Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt and sugar. Blend in flour. Knead dough until smooth. Cut into small pieces. Roll into ropes, and twist into desired shape. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. brush pretzels with beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake immediately in a preheated 425 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. For hard pretzels, shape pretzels smaller and bake until brown. Will keep well for a number of days.

PRETZEL RING BREAD

PRETZEL RING BREAD

1 (11 oz.) can refrigerated soft breadsticks
1 egg, beaten
Caraway seeds, sesame seeds or coarse salt

MUSTARD DIP:

8 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Remove breadsticks from can and separate immediately into 8 pieces. Unroll each piece and shape into a "rope" about 15" long using lightly floured fingers. Form each piece into a pretzel shape and arrange on 13" baking stone to form a 1/4" from edge. (Dough pieces should touch.)

Brush top with beaten egg. Sprinkle lightly with caraway, sesame seeds or salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Allow to cool about 5 minutes.

For mustard dip, combine sour cream and mustard. Place in small bowl in the center of the bread ring and serve. 8 servings.

Pretzel Bread

Pretzel Bread
Posted on July 13, 2007 by TwobitMe
As promised, here is my recipe for the finished pretzel bread. It’s seriously quite popular in my office, and that means I did something right.

Mike’s Signature Pretzel Bread - makes 2 small loaves
2 ¼ tsp yeast
1 cup water (110-120 degrees)
2 Tbsp room temperature milk
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp kosher salt
2 ½ – 3 cups bread flour
4 quarts water
½ cup baking soda
Kosher salt to taste
2 Tbsp melted butter

Add yeast, water, milk, brown sugar and butter into a large bowl, whisking until all ingredients are combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes for yeast to activate. Mix in kosher salt. Start by adding two cups of the flour to the bowl, combining it with other ingredients. Add more flour as it’s needed, reserving just a bit for coating the dough mat later.

The dough should form a slightly tacky, but firm ball. Oil the bowl, place the dough ball in the bowl, and cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, knead the dough by hand or machine for at least 5-10 minutes until the dough is elastic and satiny. Place dough back in the bowl and recover for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and gently degas it. Form two separate balls of dough, forming them into the shape you want. Drop one of the smaller balls into the baking soda bath for no longer than 30 seconds, turning it once to guarantee both sides covered. Drain the excess water from the dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with second ball of dough.

Sprinkle the kosher salt over the bread to your specific tastes, and make sure to use a knife to cut a small incision on the top of the bread so the dough has somewhere to expand.

Cook the bread for 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once.

Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the melted butter over the loaves to guarantee a soft crust.

BREAD STICK PRETZELS

BREAD STICK PRETZELS

1 can refrigerator bread sticks
Pizza sauce or melted cheese
Cinnamon sugar
Parmesan cheese

Use refrigerated bread sticks to form pretzels, letters, shapes or numbers. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Dip in pizza sauce or melted cheese. You can also roll them in cinnamon/sugar mixture or Parmesan cheese before baking.

Bread Dough Pretzels

BREAD DOUGH PRETZELS

1 3/4 c. warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 pkg. yeast
4 1/2 c. flour

Place ingredients in bowl and mix well. Add flour and knead well. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover and place in warm spot until double in size. Shape into pretzels. paint with milk or egg yolk and a bit of water mixture. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake on cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.

"SUPER" SOFT PRETZELS OR MINI LOAVES OF BREAD

"SUPER" SOFT PRETZELS OR MINI LOAVES OF BREAD

1 pkg. yeast
1 c. warm water
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 c. flour

Egg (to brush)

Put yeast and warm water in a bowl.
Stir until yeast dissolves.
 Add all other ingredients.
Knead dough until smooth (about 5 minutes).
Cover and place in a warm place (200 degree oven) to rise until doubled in size.
Divide dough - 6 or 7 pieces for pretzels - 3 pieces for mini loaves.
 Shape each piece.
Brush with beaten egg.
 Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired.
Place on greased cookie sheet or in greased mini loaf pans.



Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes for pretzels; at 400 degrees for 30 or 40 minutes for bread. Brush bread with butter immediately after baking to avoid hardened crust.