Sourdough Soft Pretzels

Quirk // I write many of my recipes on the backs of unopened junk mail.

It's a strange habit that started in college and it's stuck to this day, apparently. I need to invest in some composition books or something. Oh, and my writing instruments of choice range from markers and crayons to sharpies and Stephen's red grading pens. Whatever is around and not out of ink.

All that sloppy scratching =


SOURDOUGH SOFT PRETZELS
 Makes 4 >> vegan << pretzels

What you'll need . . . 

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter (straight from the fridge) 
• 1/3 cup low sodium veggie juice (I used R.W. Knudsun's Very Veggie)***
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1-1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoons flax meal
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• pinch salt
• rosemary + paprika, to taste (optional)

*** You can also use water, I'm sure of it.


Method . . . 

1. Easy enough: Toss all wet ingredients into a large bowl followed by the dry ingredients.
2. Mix together using a spoon, then work into kneading with your hands, adding extra flour if necessary. Form a smooth, elastic ball.
3. Put a bit of olive oil in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap overnight (or 8 to 10 hours should do it).
4. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.
5. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Then, on a slightly oiled surface (I used a large plate) roll out into a long snake. Shape into a pretzel, as per these instructions from another recipe.
6. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a raging boil. Then place the pretzels in one by one (or two by two, if you're comfortable) and keep submerged for about 30 seconds (they will begin to float).
7. Repeat with the other two pretzels. Then sprinkle with coarse salt (and more paprika, if you like).
8. Bake for 5 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

I've been making a lot of stuff with my sourdough starter. Honestly, I didn't know there were so many uses for it. Bagels, pretzels, pancakes, waffles, just to name a few. My favorite creation has to be the basic sourdough loaf, though.

I've also noticed a gigantic difference in taste, sourness, with letting things rise overnight versus just a few hours. It's well, well, well worth the wait, whenever possible.

And I took your advice and bought a non-Le Creuset dutch oven. Got it -- a Wolfgang Puck, 5.6 qt -- at TJ Max on clearance for $39. THIRTY NINE DOLLARS. As in, at least $100 under what I thought I needed to spend.


You'll be getting good use this weekend, my friend.

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Best-Ever Homemade Chocolate Glazed Donuts

Yet another favorite from the METHOD archives: You need not adjust your screen. What you're seeing is REAL. Homemade donuts -- perhaps one of the only creations better than homemade bagels! I made these puppies for my parents last year, and they turned out about as authentic as possible. So, I'm going to shut my mouth now and give ya'll the recipe.

(Yeah. It's a long one, but well worth the effort!)

What you'll need . . . (for the doughnut part -- inspired by this recipe)

• One 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons warm water (98 degrees)
• 3/4 cup warm soy milk (or milk)
• 2-1/2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups vegetable or canola oil
• I also added a bit of food coloring for fun
  

Method . . .

1. In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Add the soy milk, margarine or butter, egg, sugar, and salt, and blend with an electric mixer until smooth.
3. Add half the flour and mix for 30 seconds.
4. Add the remaining flour and knead the dough with flour-dusted hands until smooth.
5. Cover the bowl of dough and leave it in a comfy, warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. You can tell that the dough has risen enough when you poke it with your finger and the indentation stays.
6. Roll out the dough on a heavily floured surface until it's about 1/2 inch thick.
7. If you don't have a doughnut cutter, simply use a drinking glass about the same diameter as a 14-ounce can. You should be able to get about 12 to 14 donuts this way.
8. Now it's time to get creative -- it's time for the holes! Find the cap to a bottle of lemon juice or Worcestershire sauce, or any other small cap with a diameter of about 1 1/4 inches. Use this to punch out holes in the center of each of your donuts.
9. Place the donuts on plates or cookie sheets, cover, and let stand in the same warm, comfy place until they nearly double in size (about 30 to 45 minutes).
10. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat (to about 350 degrees). It is easily tested with scrap dough left over from punching out the donuts. The dough should bubble rapidly. I also found it helpful to place a small carrot in the oil while frying -- prevents burning, I've heard.
11. Fry each doughnut for about 30 seconds per side, or until light golden brown -- the color is key.
12. Cool 5 minutes on paper towels.
    

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

What you'll need . . .(NOTE: I found that this made WAY too much glaze, but it's what the original recipe calls for . . . I'd advise making half, but it's up to you.)

• 5 1/3 tablespoons Earth Balance or butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup hot water
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  

Method . . .

1. Combine the margarine or butter with the powdered sugar in a medium bowl and blend with an electric mixer.
2. Add the vanilla and hot water. Mix until smooth.
3. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds. Stir, then microwave another 30 seconds and stir again until completely melted.
4. Add to the plain glaze mixture. Blend until smooth.
5. When the donuts have cooled, dip each top surface into the glaze and then flip over and cool on a plate until the glaze firms up, about 15 minutes.

Psssst: Welcome to neverhomemaker.com! Your surfing should be relatively unaffected, but if you aren't receiving updates in your favorite feed reader, you may want to re-subscribe.

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Wow. So this whole X-mas thing is next week. As in, a mere seven days away. And I'm definitely not ready. Last night after work, I trekked out to Target to do a little shopping, and it was an absolute madhouse. I'm sure it'll only get worse, but -- alas -- I didn't find anything I was looking for. Just too many decor items I wanted. Ugh! As well, we woke to several inches of unexpected snow this morning. It's chilly. It's slippery. It's not great running weather (unless you put spikes on your shoes, which we're both seriously thinking of investing in).

Guess it's time to indulge my other senses. Grow a layer of extra fat to stay warm. Well, hopefully not that last part. Tonight's gym activities include power yoga and intervals on the bike. Perhaps a mile or two on the tiny indoor track. But that drives me insane. I am, however, happy to report that I'm not confined only to the bike. My foot seems to be all better -- no joke. I'm looking forward to a 10 to 12 miler on Sunday, depending on the temperature.

CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD!

This recipe is from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook -- a GREAT cookbook that I highly, highly recommend. (Actually, I think I've already recommended it. But it's early, so I'll just do it again.) The recipe in the book yields two loaves. However, I halved it (which is what I'm providing below), and it turned out great. As well, I've provided the more "normal" ingredients in parentheses (as well as some specific ingredient suggestions), but I made it vegan and, again, it turned out GREAT.


What you'll need . . .

. . . for the bread:

• 1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm soy milk (about 110F)
• 1 lb 1 oz (about 3 1/4 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) Earth Balance or butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
• 1/4 cup sugar (In the Raw works well)
• 2 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon canola oil + 2 teaspoons baking powder (or one large egg)
• 1 1/4 tsp salt (I used coarse, Kosher salt)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

. . . for the filling:

• 3/4 cups sugar (In the Raw works well)
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp water

Method . . .

1. Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk; whisk to combine. Add the flour, Earth Balance (or butter), sugar, cinnamon, water + canola oil + baking powder (or egg), and salt. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed until all the ingredients are well combined, about 3 minutes. Raise the speed to medium-low, and continue to mix until the dough is uniformly smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes more
2. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat out dough into a 9 inch round, about 1 1/4 inches thick. Sprinkle with raisins and knead until they are just incorporated. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with an oiled sheet of plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and pat into a round. Fold in the following manner: Fold the bottom third of the dough up, the top third down, and the right and left sides over, tapping the dough after each fold to release excess flour, and pressing down to seal. Return the dough to the bowl, seam side down, and let rise again -- covered -- until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
4. Make the filling: Combine sugar and cinnamon with water in a small bowl. Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out one half to a 12 by 10 inch rectangle and sprinkle with the filling.
5. Generously butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan; set aside. With a short end of the rectangle facing you, fold in both long sides of the dough, about 1 inch. Then roll the dough toward you, gently pressing as you go to form a tight log. Gently roll the log back and forth to seal the seam. Place the loaf in a prepared pan, seam side down. Cover pan loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and let rest in a warm place until dough rises just above the rim of the pan, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
6. Transfer pan to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until loaf is golden brown, about 45 minutes (for me, it took 40 minutes). If the tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with aluminum foil -- and I did have to do this.
   
7. Turn out the bread onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. This is important because ALL of the sugar mixture shoots out if you don't wait. It's a delicious landslide, but just wait, and yours will turn out better. :) The bread can be kept at room temperature up to 4 days, in a tightly sealed container.

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