another yummy baking day

So, Michael's been bugging me to try and make pretzels. We have a recipe from the Taste of Home Baking book. I haven't let him try them yet.... Have I mentioned I hate trying new things? Well, I relented today. It's been a really rough week. Rowan has been ill since last Saturday (finally better!! YEA!!), and the kids got into some unapproved foods on Sunday (spent three days climbing the walls detoxing), and Michael got into some vanilin, (we ain't going there...). So, the fact that we survived the week, got all of our school work done, and the house is semi-clean, I told Michael that as long as he cleaned the kitchen last night, he could try the pretzels this morning....

He followed the recipe (miracle for him.. lemme tell you) and made the dough without any help from me. Let it rise, and cut it into tha appropriate number of pieces, according to the recipe (another miracle...). Now, I did help him form them into ropes and fold them into the standard pretzel shape. That was fun.

Oh, notice the shirt? My mom got it for him... it is unfortunately very accurate for this particular child... Anyways, back to pretzels..




I helped with this part, too. Each pretzel was dipped in boiling water with baking soda in it for about 1 minute. Not as easy as it seems, the pretzel comes out with a funky texture, and wanted to break. I'm gonna have to get me a bigger slotted spoon or spider.
Michael sprinkled salt on them after I put them on the cookie sheet. Let's just say, he needs practice in the salting area. Some had a small pile of salt, right in the center, some had just the right amount. Live and learn, and this definately counts as learning....

Off to the oven!!!!










three words... OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why did I wait so long? I love love love soft pretzels, and these were amazing!!! I wish I could describe the aroma... oh drool-worthy! you could smell the baked salt in them.. they were crusty on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.. ok, you know if you've had a really bad soft pretzel, they have that nasty chemical taste, unidentifiable, but really gross? That is not these!! If you've ever had a good fresh pretzel, then you also know what I mean. There was 2 complaints on these. 1: I think they cooked to fast, there were a few slightly soggy spots in the twists and such. I think I'll try to cook them at a little lower temp for a touch longer, see if that helps. And 2: They don't make neough!! ok, most recipes don't, but you know. And I'll leave you with some satisfied customers...