yeast

Everything (Bagel) Pretzel Bites

June 7, 2013

I kinda felt that if I called this recipe Everything Pretzel Bites that it wouldn’t make sense exactly.

You see, instead of just topping them with the traditional salt I decided that the everything bagel topping would be the best thing ever.

When I was little I would not touch anything besides a plain bagel so an everything bagel was totally out of the question. But then time went on and I got some smarts and realized how amazing they are. If I could eat an everything bagel every day of my life I would.

Anyway, since I love all things ‘everything’ and carbs in general I made these rocking pretzel bites for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks. How can I ignore pretzels when this weekend’s race is at Pocono?!?! Exactly, I just can’t ignore those Pennslylvania Dutch and their love of pretzels.

Oh man, let me tell you that these pretzel bites rock! They were easy to make and the resulting pretzels were to yummy. The perfect amount of chew and great pretzel flavor. Just love how the baking soda skinny dip makes pretzels, well pretzels. And if you love salt on your pretzel then just stick with topping it with that but I swear the everything bagel topping is a fun twist.

We enjoyed the pretzel bites with a caramelized onion dip from Trader Joe’s and a pretty spicy brown mustard.

They disappeared quickly…

Everything (Bagel) Pretzel Bites

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups + 1 tbs hot water
1/4 cup everything bagel topping (to sprinkle on top)

Process

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in the warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the oil and yeast mixture.
Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes or use a stand mixer with the hook attachment. While the dough is coming together, watch it to see if it is looking dry so you can add a tablespoon+ of water. (I added about 2 tablespoons)
Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Lightly coat the dough with oil as well. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 – 2 hours.
When the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Put the risen dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope (do not re-knead) and cut into 1″ – 1 1/2″ pieces.
Once all of the dough is all shaped, dissolve the baking soda in very hot water in a bowl.
Dip each pretzel bite into the baking soda mixture and place on a generously greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with the everything bagel topping.
Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve warm with dip or mustard. Best the first day.

Adapted from Lily Shop

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Cheesy Garlic Knots- SRC

June 25, 2012

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I was given Suma Rowjee’s blog called Cakes and More. As usual I forwarded this info on to Price for him to pick out the recipe that I should make. I was happy that he went through her extensive recipe index consisting of breads, cakes, cookies, and many, many vegetarian dishes and picked out the garlic knots. We love garlic bread so I think that is made him pick out the garlic knots.

I’m glad he picked out that recipe since it was so easy. Which was great since I waited ’till the last minute, as usual, & started the dough last night! Ha! I made the knots this morning… Yummy breakfast! (I made Price some scrambled egg whites to go with it!) really, no matter when you eat these you will love them. Light, fluffy rolls with tons of garlic flavor. I added cheese to them before baking, because I just couldn’t resist!

I’m quite intimidated when it comes to making bread. I know I shouldn’t be but I don’t work with yeast often so I get a little nervous about it. But Suma had great instructions & a quick tweet to Amanda helped make things painless!

The dough was so easy to work with, in fact I did not knead the dough at all. I just worked the dough with an oiled rubber spoon for a while & it came together easily. With that I didn’t have to get my hands & counter super dirty then. I only worked the dough when I was forming the knots & that was easy with a bit of flour on the counter & my hands. Forming the knots was quick work and became intuitive quickly. The result was a garlicky knot that I would serve with dinner without a lot of fuss!

Cheesy Garlic Knots

makes 12 knots

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. lukewarm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 package of instant yeast
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup milk, lukewarm
3 cups all purpose flour
1¼ tsp. salt

For the garlic glaze:

4 tbsp. melted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch of black pepper
1 pinch of red pepper flake
1 pinch of oregano
grated Parmesan cheese

Process

Combine the water and sugar in a large bowl, add the yeast to proof.
Once the yeast has proofed add the oil, milk, flour, and salt to the bowl. Using a large spoon to mix all the ingredients together. Mix with the spoon or knead for 10 minutes. Oil the bowl thoroughly, return the dough to bowl with a kitchen towel and let double in size. The first rise will take approximately 1 hour.
Divide the dough into 12 balls by dividing the dough in half, then half again. Take each of those 4 sections and divide it into 3, resulting in 12 equally sized balls.
To create the knot, take one dough ball and roll it out to 10″ long strip on a floured surface. At 40% through the strip bend the strip so the 60% portion is looped over the point where your started to bend the strip. Loop the loose end through the newly created center, then tuck that end under the outer loop. The remaining tail gets flipped over the loop and tucked into the center hole. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat for all knots.
Cover the knots on the baking sheets with a kitchen towel to let them rise again for another hour.
When you are ready to bake the knots, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Also prepare the glaze by combining all of the glaze ingredients, except the cheese. Brush the glaze on each knot, sprinkle a little bit of cheese on the glazed knots.
Bake the knots for 11-13 minutes, or until they cheese is golden brown.

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Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

May: Berry Brownie Torte

April: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

March: Sauteed Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds

February: Fried Pickles

Jan: No SRC postings

December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Some Seriously Amazing Cinnamon Rolls

December 24, 2009

Two weekends ago I ventured into the territory of baking with yeast. I learned how working with yeast can be a pain in the ass but if it works you get great results. My first attempt was a miserable fail with a sticky, dense, dead ball of dough. I figured out my milk was at 112 and the was way too hot for my yeast so I tried again at 100 and SUCCESS!!!

I went through all this trouble because I saw these amazing Peppermint Bark Buns at Fake Ginger. I could have gone for the peppermint and chocolate filling but I am not a big fan of white chocolate so I decided to stick with a cinnamon roll and this would be a springboard into making the cinnamon rolls.

These cinnamon rolls were worth the trouble since they were an amazing treat for the weekend. Plus I felt like I conquered a big fear with using yeast. I made an orange frosting for them which was good- a nice complement to the cinnamon but standard milk based frosting is more my thing. I think eggnog would be fantastic!

Seriously Amazing Cinnamon Rolls

makes 12 rolls

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup warm milk (skim works)
2 eggs
1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
4 cups bread flour, 1/2 cup reserved
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 packet dry active yeast

Filling

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
4 tablespoons cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, softened

Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
milk or orange juice until you have reached your desired frosting thickness

Process

To prepare the dough, start by heating the milk per yeast instructions (between 100-110F). Melt the butter, set aside. Beat eggs in a very large bowl, set aside. Once the milk has reached the right temperature add the yeast and let proof per instructions. Mix in the sugar and melted butter into the eggs. Gently mix in the milk/yeast to the wet ingredients. In half cup intervals mix in the bread flour until 4 cups has been incorporated. With the remaining 1/2 cup, dust a clean smooth surface and coat your hands. Kneed the dough into a ball incorporating the remaining flour. Place into a greased bowl, cover, with plastic wrap and let double in size (several hours).
While your dough is rising prepare the cinnamon sugar mixture by combining the sugars, cinnamon, and the softened butter. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 and grease baking pans.
Roll out dough into a 16 by 21 inch rectangle. Spread butter mixture evenly over dough. Roll up dough jelly roll style and divide into 12 rolls. Arrange evenly in pan(s), cover and let rise until doubled.*
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
While rolls are baking combine the cream cheese and sifted powered sugar. Add milk/oj to the cream cheese until it reached the desired consistency. Spread frosting over warm rolls before serving.

*I did not do this since I wanted them right then and they turned out fine. So this extra rise is up to you.