I came up with this recipe and it came out so tasty and so easy you will love it. You don’t have to use a piping bag like I did. I did mine with a professional sized tip and it was not real hard but some work to do. I found out on my 2nd try with a home cooks star tip that it was even harder because the tips are meant for frosting not dough. It’s easier and better to roll the dough. You can just roll the dough into 24 logs (half, half, half again, and so on). If you eat one then you have 24 servings. If you eat two at a sitting then you have 12 servings.
Ingredients for around 12 servings
3 ounces mature cheddar cheese (I buy the cheddar that Costco sells) – shredded
4 ounces flour
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
2+1/2 ounce sweet butter – melted
1 egg – lightly beaten
non stick spray.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
In a large mixing bowl mix together all the ingredients (expect non stick spray) (cheddar, flour, smoked paprika, Old Bay Seasoning, butter, egg, baking powder)
Either pipe (with a large professional sized tip) or roll logs with the dough.
I piped and used a tip like this.
When you have your cheese straws made put the baking sheet on your middle rack and keep them in the oven until you start to brown. Ovens do differ and the size of your straw may differ. Mine took 25 minutes.
I got some sweet potatoes so I threw them in the oven with a little water to steam them till they got soft. Then I got the idea to make them into hand pies. I made them up real fast. I did have extra filling left over that you can heat and then eat. I got lots of compliments on my unique crust. If you mix it up by hand real fast like I did it comes out light and flaky like from a master baker.
Ingredients for around 10 servings
2 cups flour
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon course sea salt
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs separated (egg whites for inside dough for sealing and yolks for glazing)
1 lb sweet potatoes – cooked, peeled, and mashed
1 egg – lightly beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
Directions
In a large bowl mix together the flour, oil, vinegar, salt, water, and baking powder. Make it into a short fat log and wrap with plastic wrap.
Mix together the sweet potato mixture (sweet potatoes, 1 egg, cinnamon, ginger, dark brown sugar, and sour cream. If it’s lumpy use a mixer.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Either divide into 10 equal pieces or pinch off around a golfball 1.5-2oz piece of dough and roll it thin and flat and close to a round shape.
Brush the whole top with egg white.
Add small scoop or teaspoon of sweet potato mixture.
Bring up ends together.
crimp ends with your fingers or just use a fork.
These all go on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Brush the tops with all of the egg yolks.
These go in the oven till golden……depending on your oven around 30-40 minutes.
This recipe is a TWEAKED version of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine Recipe for Laugenbrezeln (German Lye Pretzels) I decided that I wanted to make the pretzel recipe but a few things I had to change. I didn’t want to use lye because lye can be dangerous to use. (they do give an alternative baking soda suggestion). I changed the water temperature because room temperature water never comes out as well as making bread doughs with warmer water. The biggest change I made was to add malt flour to the dough and to add malt flour to the water dip simmer. Malt flour is the secret ingredient to Philly Pretzels and most bagels in Pennsylvania so I thought malt flour was an essential ingredient. Malt flour adds a special flavor, some color, and a little chewy sweetness to the dough….I bought malt flour from my local Asiana Market but I’m certain that it is easy to buy on-line. Serving size is difficult to judge. The original recipe made 6 pretzels. I made this recipe into 12 small buns. One might not be enough for you???? My husband and me shared one as soon as they got cool enough to eat…He said that they were really good (several times) he went back to eat a whole one. That means you will want one or two a person. I’ll say 12 servings because I meant them to be small buns.
Ingredients for around 12 servings
12+3/4 oz bread flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 Tablespoon unsalted butter – room temperature
1 Tablespoon malt flour
1 cup 100 degree F water
8 cups water
1/3 cup baking soda
2 Tablespoons malt flour
12 pinches course sea salt
non stick canola spray
Directions
Ad the bread flour, 1 teaspoon salt, yeast, butter,1 Tablespoon malt flour, 1 cup water to your bowl from your stand mixer. Mix it up by hand so the ingredients don’t fly all over. Then on medium low speed keep it mixing for around 6 minutes. Make sure you stop around three minutes to scrap down the bowl to make sure the dough gets mixed all the way threw. This mixture gets shaped into a ball and goes in a greased bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and wait till it doubles in size. Around an hour or so.
Divide the dough in 6 pieces. Do not add flour.
Roll each piece into a long log. You will have 6 long longs and make two braids.
Each braid gets cut in thirds.
Each third gets cut in half.
Then you put your hands kinda “C” shaped with your pinky fingers against the board with your dough and rock your hands around each dough ball to shape the dough round.
Then you spray plastic wrap and be sure to use the sprayed side against the dough so it doesn’t stick.
Leave this rest around an hour.
Set your oven to 475F and spray a couple baking sheets with canola non stick spray. Set the pans to the side.
In a big pot (you might have bubble over problems)…..add the 8 cups of water, baking soda, 2 Tablespoons malt flour and mix well. Bring this to boil and then lower it to simmer. Drop about 4 dough balls at a time. For around 30 seconds and then turn them over and do 30 seconds again. Then use a slotted spoon to get them out and shake off all the water that you can before you place them spread out on sprayed baking sheets.
As you get them on baking sheets don’t forget to add a pinch of course sea salt onto each one.
They go on the middle & bottom rack of your preheated 475 degree oven for around 10 minutes and get turned over for another 2 or 3 minutes.
Pretzel Buns
I have to say that these pretzel buns came out CRAZY FORKING AMAZING!
My husband said I should sell them to a certain restaurant in metro Phoenix that offers baked pretzels that aren’t nearly as good.
Fluffy, soft, chewy, slightly moist inside with good tasting salt and a little crunch on the exterior.
Pretzel Buns
A Special THANKS!!!! To Cook’s Illustrated Magazine for their GREAT Recipe so I could come up with what you see here.
I’m baking less these days but was thinking that over the years I baked many delicious breads here. One thing I learned about baking bread is that all recipes for bread are not accurate. I know almost every time I follow a bread recipe I always have to make adjustments. Every brand of flour is ground different and produces different results. Also when you measure some people pack more flour into a cup than other people. There are other factors that also produce different results such as altitude, humidity, different ovens. The good news is that once you make your first really nice bread you almost don’t need a recipe for bread because you will learn quick what the dough should feel like. He are the breads. My apologies in advance if the recipe isn’t 100% accurate because of different brands of flour or other factors.
Up top is a beautiful classic boule bread.
Next one is dukkah feta cheese and barberry bread.
I was braising chicken in my oven and according to my thermometer my chicken was at 180 degrees. I noticed that it didn’t look done. Then I noticed blood running out of the chicken so I knew my thermometer wasn’t working accurately.
Then I thought my chicken was taking much longer to get done than normal so I wanted to get the temperature of my oven. I had two oven thermometers and they both gave me different readings. I figured my thermometers are old so maybe I need a new one? I ran to Ace Hardware and bought a new oven thermometer. WOW I got a another different temperature. My husband did some research into oven thermometers. According to Cook’s Illustrated the CDN Brand are highly recommended so we bought two of them since I have a double oven.
I put all 5 thermometers in my lower oven that I set for 350 degrees F roast. I let my oven run for around 20 minutes before I took a reading.
This is what I got.
New Taylor Thermometer from ACE read around 300 degrees F
NEW CDN Thermometer read around 320 degrees F
other NEW CDN Thermometer read around 276 degrees F
Old Thermometer read around 335 degrees F
other old thermometer read around 350 degrees F
I got between around 276 – around 350 degrees F
Now I will see what my top oven reads. I set it at 350 roast.
My New Taylor Thermometer reads around 280 degrees F
New CDN reads around 298 F
Other new CDN reads around 278 F
Old thermometer reads around 340 F
other old thermometer reads around 340 F
I got between 280 – 340 F reading on my upper oven set at 350 roast.
I’m thinking maybe I don’t FORKING NEED a thermometer? I shouldn’t get hot and bothered about this……..I have to just cook till the food is done.
The Forking Truth is that your thermometer (and your oven) might not be accurate.
