Pretzel Bites

I know it has been awhile since I wrote a blog post. June has been a crazy busy month, and with the little man off at the Grandparent's house for the month, I just haven't done much as far as cooking goes. Everybody loves pretzels right? I know I do. This recipe even though slightly involved, is ahhhmazzzzing!

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115F)

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

22 oz all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 cups)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Vegetable oil, for greasing bowl

For Finishing:

Cooking Spray

10 Cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Pretzel (or kosher) salt

Directions

To make the dough, combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to dissolve the yeast. Add in the flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough i smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, about 50-55 minutes or until doubled in bulk. 

Preheat the oven to 450F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot. In the meantime, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll a segment out into a 24-inch long rope. Cut the rope into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Place onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted skimmer and return to the baking sheet. Once all the pretzels have been boiled, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake in the preheated oven until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

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Whole Wheat Bread Loaves

I know I haven't posted in awhile but I promise you that this recipe more than makes up for it. It is so good that we no longer buy bread because you can freeze this dough! Thank you too vanderbiltwife.com

for this recipe!

Ingredients

5 tsp or 2 packages of active dry yeast

2 1/2 cups warm water, divided

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 Tbsp salt

6 cups white whole wheat flour 

Directions

**Makes 3 loaves**

This recipe can be made either in a stand mixer with dough hooks or mixed by hand. Because there is not a lot of kneading, it's not too bad to do by hand.

Pour 1/2 cup warm water into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast over it. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter over low heat. Add honey and sugar and stir together. Let cool slightly - it's OK if it's warm, but not hot.

Add butter mixture, salt, and remaining 2 cups water to the yeast and water in the bowl and stir well to combine.

One cup at a time, add in flour and stir until it's combined. When done, turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead just until all the flour is worked into the dough. (Or, use speed 2 on your mixer with dough hooks.)

Cover bowl with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and then let rise again, about another 45 minutes to an hour.

Separate dough into three equal balls. Press each ball into a rectangle with floured hands, roll up lengthwise, and then tuck ends under. Place loaves in greased loaf pans.

Cover pans and let rise again 30 minutes, until dough is to the top of the pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until loaves are golden brown and sound a little hollow when you tap on them. Let loaves cool completely before slicing and serving.

**Note about freezing**

Shape loaves and freeze them after two rises. Defrost in a greased pan and let it rise (this does take awhile, at least for me. Count on about 4-6 hours before it's ready to be baked.)

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