First attempt at soft pretzels

[aklap]

Way back in April we went to the Thrive Allergy & GF Expo in Chicago. Jules Shepard and Lee Tobin [Whole Foods Bake house originator], put on a baking demo using Jules flour mix and made fresh soft pretzels. Gosh were they good!

We purchased a bag of her flour mix to try the pretzels at home. Here's her recipe they handed out at the show

So, here's our first attempt at GF soft pretzels...



Yeah, we need to work on our pretzel making skillz. Ready for proofing in the oven.




Proofed and ready for a bath.




Like bagels, soft pretzels need to be boiled in baking soda bath.




Kids, don't try this at home. This is an untrained unprofessional fishing around in boiling water...




Trying to grab another one for a bath. It's worse that trying to bathe a cat!




Peg is giving them a dose of butter and salt.



Fresh - hot - right out of the oven!

Al n Peg Notes:

Overalll, our first attempt was OK. Not great, not good - just OK. They did taste pretty good. We also over did it a bit with the salt. The leftovers were not that great. They were very oily/greasy - again - I think evidence we used too much oil and butter. Hey, the recipe said liberally, so we did!


Things we'd do differently:

• Thinner ropes of dough. I think these were too big.

• Brush on much less vegetable oil and butter. During the baking process, oil and butter seeped down on top the [cheap] parchment paper and caused sticking. I won't entirely blame the paper until we try it again.

Tips:

• This dough doesn't like to roll out on the counter very well. It's too "slippery", there's nothing to generate friction and thus allow you to roll out the ropes properly. We used a plastic cutting board. This surface as a bumpy texture - something for he dough to get some traction on, thus allowing us to roll it easier.

• We are going to try boiling them a bit long next time - just to see if it changes the texture.

• We also might do away with the classic pretzel shapes and do logs or bread sticks.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[rpf1007]

They look great! I'll be interested to hear the report on how they taste. It's looks pretty time consuming?
_________________
Rachel

[smalltownslackermom]

that looks so GOOD!
can we upload photos to this site?
hmm, I'll go check the FAQ.
You and Peg are inspiring!
_________________
son - high ttg - 4/09, pos. biopsy 5/09
self - negative bloodwork 5/09, pos. biopsy 11/09
sister - gf for ~3 years and is a new person
niece - positive ttg 2/10, foregoing biopsy

[aklap]

[aklap]

[Fidissimus]

For all the work, they sure look good! Pass the mustard.
_________________
Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/