Wholy Pretzels!

At Edinburgh's annual German market, I was a big fan of the big, soft pretzels. Inexcusably full of white carbs, I restrained myself... but with the German market over and done with, I miss those lil guys, even if my thighs don't. WINK.

I found a recipe in my new Rachel Allen cookbook, a Christmas present, which is a great resource for hunger-inducing ideas. Here I have adopted her recipe for soft pretzels into a more healthful 100% whole wheat version, and in part, a glazed raisin variety.

These are especially worth making because you can use them as a replacement for the usual sandwich bread or toast. I like to have one paired with soup for lunch, or half of one with an apple and cheese for a pre-workout snack.

Try it. You'll be saying "mmm, schmcekt gut!" in no time.

Wholy Pretzels (makes about 12, depending on how big you like them)

• 500g strong whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp fast-acting yeast
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 375 ml warm water
• rock salt

For the baking soda boil:

• 75g baking soda
• 1 liter water

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and make a well in the center.
2. Mix the wet ingredients and add them slowly, mixing in between additions. You can mix this with your hands, which is fun.
3. Knead the mixture for 10 minutes, until the dough bounces back to shape when poked with your finger. It should be quite firm, but not flaky and dry, nor sticky.
4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place until doubled in size (1-3 hours, mine took only 1).
5. Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C (450 F) and line baking trays with parchment.
6. Punch the dough down and divide into 12 (or less or more) semi-even-sized pieces.
7. For each pretzel, roll the dough into a long snake, about as thick as a Sharpie. Twist the ends together and fold the ends over the middle of the pretzel and press down to seal the shape.
8. After shaping all the pretzels, cover them up with plastic wrap and let them rise again for 15 minutes.
9. During the end of the second rising, bring the water to a boil, and add the baking soda. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
10. Place the pretzels, 2 at a time, in the water. Simmer for 30 seconds, then flip to simmer 30 more seconds on the other side. Remove and place back on the lined tray. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.
11. Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes, turning them over half way through if needed.

Notes:
*Instead of salt, you can use poppy seeds, dried onion, nuts or other seeds.
*There's a reason for raisins: They're delicious. Work some raisins into the dough before shaping them into the pretzel shape. Try making 1 or 2 raisin pretzels in the batch if you don't want a whole batch of raisin pretzels.

Glaze:

• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 30g icing sugar (more or less to get the right consistency)

Mix together and spread over the pretzels, or use as a pretzel dip.

Daring Bakers January Challenge

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.



Thank you, Karen and Zorra!

I selected the savory tuile recipe, actually, from Thomas Keller's "the French Laundry Cookbook." I followed the recipe exactly as posted (below), with the replacement of sesame seeds with a light sprinkling of cheddar cheese before baking.

I paired it with the almighty apple. We were meant to keep this very "light," and I thought, what's lighter, and goes better with cheddar, than an apple? So while I know it was an easy route, it was also a delicious one that I would travel again if I ever a burning desire to, well, burn my fingers again with hot tuiles. Anyone else have that problem? Oh well. They were still delicious, and a big hit at the erm, Guitar Hero World Tour party I took them to.

As big a fan I am cheddar and apple, so too am I of alliteration, thus I made tuile tulips... but they look more like carnations.


These are the stencils I made out of a cereal box. I wish I had been in the States again for this challenge where I have access (in my kitchen supplies there) to my silpats and some cheapo cutting board/sheets I could have used that wouldn't disintegrate from the batter. The delicious batter, might I add, which you can see below.


I attempted to mold them on these little spice jars, but for some reason mine needed a little more persuasion that gravity. So I really just used my hands.

And the finished product--yummy.





Savory tuile/cornet recipe
From Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook"

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)**
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.

There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds.

Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.

Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door.*** This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.

Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.

When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.
Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.