Pretzels and Bagels and recipe's oh my!!

Pretzels with Salt .....



And pretzels with cinnamon and sugar..... 

Yes, you already know which one is the chef's. ;) Look, when it comes to shaping,  me no likey!! :) :) Granted, I am not giving it 100% when I know I should.. but at least I get the idea.  I won't lie, I understand how to make bread, it comes out darn good, but I am really much more into baking pastries. I will be much happier and excited in my cakes class :).  Less shaping ;).  I better get this shaping thing down tomorrow though because my practical is on the braided Challah bread!! I actually enjoyed making that, so I'm crossing my fingers that I will do well.

So pretzels are mega easy to make and they come out soo good. If you own a mixer that has the kneading attachment, you should definitely give it the old college try. I am always around to help you with the 12 steps, so just give me a shout. Here is the recipe :

Ingredients:

10.5 oz of WATER

.25 oz of Instant YEAST

12 oz of BREAD FLOUR

4 oz of PASTRY FLOUR

.25 oz SALT

.50 oz SUGAR

Soda Wash  ( Make separately and put aside )

8 oz WARM WATER

1 oz BAKING SODA

Make the dough using your 12 steps!  Mix this all in your bowl, let your dough sit, etc.  :) After you proof it and are about to put it in the oven, you need to brush on a soda wash so it gets a nice color while baking. If you want to use Salt, now is the time to put it on the bagel. If you want to use cinnamon and sugar as your topping, wait for the pretzels to be done, put some butter on the top as soon as it comes out and spread your cinnamon and sugar mix on top of the pretzel.  It will look a little something like mine above. Of course, if you shape your bagel super pretty, it will come out cuter than the one you see above ;).

Remember, your oven should be at 400F. When its Golden Brown and Delicious, pop that baby out!

PLAIN BAGELS:

Bagels are also super duper easy to make and they taste delicious right out of the oven. You know what? I don't think I will ever eat cold bread again. ( Riiiiiiight!)... ok fine, that's stretching it a bit. But I REALLY, TRULY, LOVINGLY enjoy the bread warm. Mmmm Mmmm Good!! I don't even look at it after its cold. I shun the poor things. haha... Oh boy.. I know, that's just wrong.  Better for my "tasters", cuz that means more bread for them.

Wish me luck tomorrow! As soon as that practical is over, i will be free!! BEACH free!! Beach, Beach and more Beach.. Beach on Friday with the besty, Beach on Saturday with the family, and well, I wouldn't mind being on the Beach on Sunday too, but somehow I think I will knock out Sunday and enjoy the Easter holiday with my family.

I will see you back here tomorrow to give you OUR grade and the pics of our final product. Enjoy the night, its breathtakingly beautiful out!

XO