2.07.2011

pretzels and pears

We had a lovely weekend. Phillip and I made these pretzels yesterday, and they are delicious. The original recipe is here.

Mall Pretzels

Ingredients

  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 1/8 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 2 tablespoons baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

Directions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.
  2. Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan.
  3. After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope, pencil thin or thinner. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.
  4. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar.

Footnotes

  • Editor's Note
  • When forming the ropes, roll each one to about half the length you want, then set it aside while you roll the rest. By the time you get back to the first rope, it will have rested enough to roll further.


We don't have a local market through the winter, but there was a special one on Saturday. One of our favourite farmers had these gorgeous jars of her organic pears. They were too beautiful (and as it turns out, too delicious) to pass up.

My new favourite way to eat pears: with plain yogourt, a tablespoon of elderberry syrup, and cinnamon sprinkled on top. I know it sounds like too much going on, but it's not. It's divine.

Speaking of elderberry syrup, Vickie was sooo sweet, and sent me some elderberries! I made the syrup following this tutorial, and it couldn't have been easier (or made the house smell better). I also wasn't anticipating how delicious it would be! It's really, really nice. And the added antiviral properties are lovely, too.

Happy Monday!

7 comments:

  1. Sherrie!!! I just made these for the first time this weekend. I put them in a container and they were still hot and the steam made them gross by the next day. Mine had rosemary and garlic in them... but almost the exact same recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mh, those pretzels look yummy!
    My mom used to can pears with whole sticks of cinnamon when I was a kid. The juice turned into a wonderful spicy syrup and we just ate them like that without anything else...heaven :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stacey! That's too funny - I think we're rather similar. :) Ours weren't very good the next day, either - I think that maybe if they were heated in the oven, they might be edible. But we ate so many the first day, it didn't really make a big difference. :) Rosemary and garlic sounds yummy.

    Kristina, that sounds delicious! I loooove cinnamon. Maybe I'll try canning some this fall with cinnamon sticks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. YUM! Those look amazing...of course I mean both the pretzels and pears...not to mention elderberry syrup! I would imagine that elderberries would make an amazing jam or jelly! So nice of Vickie to send them to you! I think I will have to try to find some this year to give them a try!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Heya Sherrie! Elderberry syrup sounds amazing - can you get elderberries locally?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sarah, that's a very good question. I know that there are a few different varieties, and there's something seriously poisonous about one of them (I think I have that right). I think they grow around here, but I don't know if it's an ornamental variety that's poisonous, or what. So, unless you have it on good authority that there are edible ones somewhere handy, I might stick to the dried ones. The ones I used were given to me, and originally ordered from Mountain Rose Herbs. Let me know if you try it!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your comments - I read and appreciate each one! Sorry about the word verification - the spammers found me and it became necessary. Thanks for taking the time to comment!