Milk Street’s Three-Seeded Beer Pretzels

Photo: Milk Street

While still living with my parents, I used to make bagels. I got the recipe from a tiny paper recipe book I bought at a drugstore for 25-cents. After moving to Manhattan, I never had to make bagels again! Soft pretzels are kind of like the cousins of bagels as they’re made much the same way. There’s nothing better tasting than a fresh soft pretzel! For some reason, in Manhattan, a soft pretzel is much more expensive (costing $10 - $16) compared to a bagel (at $1.25 - $2.00). There are more bagel manufacturers than soft pretzel makers, so less competition may determine its price.

With simple ingredients, baking pretzels isn’t hard, but it takes time. Over the weekend, I watched Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street make Three-Seeded Beer Pretzels and then googled the recipe for guidance. If requested, I’ll remove the recipe, but it’s on the internet, and I’ll also link it to Milk Street’s website.

Ingredients for Milk Street’s dough:

4 cups (548g) bread flour (plus more as needed)

2¼ tsp instant yeast

2¼ tsp table salt
¾ cup amber ale or lager
⅔ cup water
2 tbsp salted butter, cubed and softened
1½ tbsp barley malt syrup (or molasses)

For Boiling: ⅓ cup baking soda

A pot of water

Topping Seed Mixture: 1 large egg white, beaten

2 tsp flaky salt, ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds, 2 tbsp caraway seeds

Milk Street’s Directions:

1) In a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix flour, yeast, and salt. 

2) Add beer, ⅔ cup water, butter, and syrup. Mix on low for 2 minutes, then medium for 6–7 minutes until smooth and shiny.

3) Cold Fermentation (Optional but recommended): Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours for better flavor.

4) Shape: Divide dough into 10 pieces (approx. 95g each). Roll each into a 26- to 28-inch rope and shape into a pretzel. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets misted with oil.

5) Rise: Let shaped pretzels rise for 15–20 minutes until slightly puffy.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

6) Boil: Bring 3 quarts of water and baking soda to a simmer in a large pot. Boil pretzels for 30 seconds, then return to baking sheets.

7) Top and Bake: Brush with egg white, slash the "belly" of the pretzel with a knife, and sprinkle with the seed mix and flaky salt.

8) Bake: Bake for 14–16 minutes at 450°F until deeply browned, rotating sheets halfway through.

Debra’s Tweaks:

I only used 2 cups of bread flour to make 6 pretzels. Lacking beer, the 3 types of seeds, and barley malt syrup, I substituted sourdough starter, Everything Seasoning, Himalayan salt, and dark brown sugar. I proofed the dough in my oven for 6 hours. After the boiling step #6, I sprinkled the tops with Everything seasoning and salt (sans egg white), then I baked my pretzels at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes without rotating the baking sheet. It worked! My pretzels were very tasty, so feel free to make the recipe your own! As far as shaping the pretzels on my 1st try, well, a couple were elephant man pretzels in appearance. Practice makes perfect.

BTW, have you ever wondered how pretzels got their shape?

According to legend, 7th-century monks (in Italy or Southern France) created pretzels as treats, pretiola (Latin for "little rewards") for children who were learning their prayers. The shape was twisted to resemble arms crossed in prayer with 3 holes in the twist to represent the Holy Trinity. Also called bracellae ("little arms"), eventually the savory pastry spread throughout Europe becoming brezel in German, and later on, German immigrants brought pretzels to America.

Hot out of the oven, fresh pretzels are delicious!🥨

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ATK's Cast Iron Beer-Batter Cheese Bread

Recipe and all photos - ATK - video linked also.

As you know, my lovely readers, the recipes I want to make again end up here on the blog so I can return to find them also. This one from America's Test Kitchen is a keeper because it is a very cheesy quick bread, therefore fresh oven-baked bread without the time of waiting for the dough to rise. The beer, yeast-in-the-beer, and cheese give this bread plenty of rich flavor. Since I always stock extra sharp cheddar, it's what I will use most of the times I make it, but you can use any robust or sharp cheese to make the bread.

Cast Iron Beer-Batter Cheese Bread 

(from America's Test Kitchen here)

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

½ cup minced fresh chives 

2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 cups Gruyère cheese, shredded (You can substitute extra sharp cheddar or any robust cheese if you wish.)
1 ¼ cups mild lager, such as Budweiser
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1) Whisk together flour, chives, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.

2) Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese until coated with flour. 

3) Stir beer and melted butter into the flour mixture and just combined. Do not over-stir. Expect the batter to be thick and heavy.

4) Scrape batter into a well-greased 10 1/2 inch cast iron skillet. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

5) Bake in a 450-degree F oven for 20 - 25 minutes, rotating the

pan halfway through the baking.

6) Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cast iron stays super hot for a long time, so handle carefully when (after 10 minutes) removing the bread from the skillet to cool for another 20 minutes.

Something to bake over the weekend to go with soup, chili, or stew! Or perhaps wine and a cheese platter. Bon Appetit!

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Cinnamon Raisin Nut Swirl Bread

Photo: Belgoods.com

Usually when I make homemade bread I'm forced to make 2 loaves at once, which is more bread then I care to eat. Yes, I know I could freeze one, but often I'd rather make one fresh loaf, enjoy eating it, then go on to some other food. So I've got this tasty bread recipe down to a single loaf, and I add all the things I like: cinnamon, raisins and nuts. The cinnamon swirl filling makes it extra cinnamon delish! (You can skip the cinnamon swirl filling if you wish, but really why would you?!) Also, I prefer a sweet bread that is sweet enough without being too sugary, therefore I don't put much sugar in the dough itself; rather I add a swirl of cinnamon brown sugar. Finally, the raisins add moisture, so the loaf will stay fresh longer.

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Swirl Bread

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour (I also use all whole wheat flour. The loaf is whole grain, not as light as using white flour, but still fluffy.)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fast acting dried yeast

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup raisins (Raisin lovers can go up to 1 cup.)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans work.)

1 3/4 cup milk (or buttermilk; or 1 3/4 water with 8 tablespoons dry powder milk)

2 eggs

About 1 cup of extra flour for folding over the dough on a cutting board. (You end up using 4 cups of flour to make 1 loaf.)

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl whisk, or use the handle of a wooden spoon to stir the dry ingredients together.

2) Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the ingredients in the above recipe in order if you wish. Incorporate well with the whisk, or handle of the wooden spoon. Form into a ball. I moisten the top with a little water.

3) Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel, or plastic wrap, and let it rise overnight in a warm place. I place the dough inside of my oven. The pilot light keeps it warm.

4) The next morning after the dough has doubled, slide it out of the bowl onto a floured cutting board. No need to knead much (the overnight rising kneads the dough). Simply fold it over a few times. {I pour a teaspoon of olive oil on my hands so the dough won't stick as I work it. I also think olive oil (or butter!) locks in the moisture of the bread after it is baked.} Flatten the dough out to prepare to add the swirl filling --

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Filling

Ingredients and directions: 

Combine 1/3 cup brown sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

(Substitute white sugar if you wish. The nutrition and calories are the same as brown sugar.)

5) With the dough flatten out, sprinkle and spread the cinnamon sugar evenly on top, then grabbing an edge, roll the dough up into a loaf, and pop it into a greased loaf pan. Cover again with a towel.

Photo: findingtimeforcooking.com

6) Let it proof for a 2nd time in a warm place for about 1 hour.

7) Next bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 - 40 minutes until it forms a golden crust and an inserted tester produces a crumb.

8) When the bread is done, remove it from the oven; wait 10 minutes; remove from the pan; let it cool a bit (if you can!) before slicing.

The bread is delicious on day one, as well as, toasted days later. To eat fresh bread, slice and store it in the freezer, not the refrigerator (which dries it out). Remove a slice at a time to pop into a toaster.

Baking bread from scratch is easy. Enjoy!

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Artisan Rye Bread

Photo: Food.com

Another cold weekend, another loaf of bread. This time homemade rye bread.

It took 12 hours+, but not a lot of effort. To my surprise, the bread is delicious! As you can see from the steps below, I used our trusty Sullivan Street Bakery's No Knead method to make it. So here is my newest, Artisan Bread recipe:

No Knead Rye Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups rye flour

4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

3 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons caraway seeds

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar (for flavor; also helps dough rise.)

1 1/2 cups + 1 ounce water (eyeball it)

Extra flour and oil for your hands.

Equipment: 

large wok with a glass lid

10 " cast iron skillet, or a Dutch oven

Directions:

Photo: TheFreshLoaf.com

1) Throw all the dry ingredients into a wok (or a mixing bowl if you don't have a wok). Stir the dry ingredients together uniformly.

2) Add the olive oil, vinegar and water.

3) Mix into a dough (using your hands if you wish).

4) Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for 12-18 hours. I use the wok and glass lid as a cover. Set the dough in the oven overnight with just the pilot light to keep it warm.

5) The next morning after the dough has tripled in size, I turn it over a couple of times, cover it again and set the dough back in the oven with just the pilot light a 2nd time to rise for 2 additional hours.

6) Next transfer the dough to a preheated cast iron skillet (or into a preheated Dutch oven). Note: I forgot to preheat the skillet. The bread came out fine anyway. The reason to preheat the pan is to prevent the bread from sticking to it. I was lucky!

7) Bake in a preheated 450 degree F oven for 30 minutes, uncovered.

This recipe makes a huge loaf of bread, as I discovered. After baking, I put half the loaf in the freezer to keep it fresh. The bread is too good, not to eat at the peak of freshness! You can also bake smaller loaves by dividing the dough in half (or thirds or quarters). I also forgot to score the top of my dough before baking. Next time! This recipe is very forgiving. 

I'm amazed at how easy it is to bake good quality bread. Now we (me included!) can check back here to get the ingredients in the right proportions for one, large, scrumptious loaf of rye!

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