Bread

Mini Cheddar Scallion Monkey Breads

January 16, 2012 by Rebecca 22 Comments

There’s very little cheese in this recipe. That is, there’s not so much cheese compared to the sum total amount of cheese in, say, Wisconsin or Vermont. There’s really not a whole lot compared to what you would find in my favourite cheese factory and shoppe. But otherwise?

There is a ton of cheese in and on these mini monkey breads.

As in a lot.

Very much.

A whole cheesy bunch.

Mmm. Cheese.

What we have here is little pieces of cheese bread dough tossed with minced scallions (Because onions and Cheddar cheese? They’re like *this*!) and olive oil, plopped into muffin tins and capped with a serious amount of cheese. How much? Well, about this much…

In case you’re mentally tabulating, that’s roughly a quarter cup of shredded cheese on top of each of these little golden brown beauties. (That doesn’t count how much went into the dough. Hubba hubba.)

In short, this bread is a cheese lover’s dream. Served by itself as a hearty snack or alongside a piping hot bowl of whatever soup flicks your Bic, this is, simply put, the stuff.

Now I’m going to tell you to grate your own cheese for this. I try not to be super bossy about this kind of thing, but I’m going to put on my mom voice right now. Whether you do it, your food processor does it for you or you bribe some burly bicep-ed man in the house with promises of cheesy kisses, I don’t care… Just don’t use the stuff in the bag (not that I’m opposed to that sometimes) because it usually is treated with stuff to make the shreds stay separate for long periods of time on the store shelves. There’s something about the way cheese you’ve shredded yourself melts that just plain makes this taste better.

I have another piece of unsolicited advice for you. Use the extra sharpest Cheddar you can find for this bread. You want the tang and punch and wow and “I AM CHEESE” presence that only extra sharp Cheddar can deliver. Your extra-Cheddar perseverance will be rewarded. Unless, of course you really don’t like extra sharp, in which case you should substitute away!

I want you to know that I accidentally fell face first into this plate after I took these pictures.

It’s okay, though. I only ate the ones I licked.

Mini Cheddar Scallion Monkey Breads

Bite sized morsels of cheese-laced bread dough tossed with minced scallions (Because onions and Cheddar cheese? They're like this!) and olive oil, arranged in muffin tins and capped with a serious amount of cheese then baked to crisp topped, deep golden brown perfection.

The dough for this is the Cheese Bread recipe from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.

Ingredients

For the dough:

1/4 cup water
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 1/2 cups bread flour (can substitute all-purpose flour if necessary)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup finely grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 teaspoons tomato paste

For the Scallion Oil:

8 scallions, trimmed and minced
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 clove garlic, peeled and minced

To Top the Rolls:

2 cups finely shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Mix together all of the dough ingredients by hand, stand mixer or bread machine until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Let rise, covered, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Stir together all of the ingredients for the scallion oil in a small mixing bowl. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Toss together the cheese topping mixture. Set these all aside.

Turn the risen dough out onto a clean counter and divide into 36 equal-ish sized pieces. Roll each piece in the scallion oil, pushing scallion bits into the dough. Put 3 pieces in each of the 12 muffin cups. Let rise for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place.

Preheat oven to 375°F. As the oven preheats, evenly divide the cheesy topping mixture over each of the risen monkey breads. Bake for 22-30 minutes, or until the bread is set and the cheese is golden brown and crusty on top of each monkey bread.

Let the bread cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/16/mini-cheddar-scallion-monkey-breads/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Bread, Comfort Food, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Bread, dough, kid friendly, party food, Vegetarian

Honey Potato Rolls

November 18, 2011 by Rebecca 12 Comments

Every year right around this time I get sappy. I spend November first through January tenth in a heightened state of emotional lather. We have all five boys’ birthdays interspersed among Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. The ever-racing nature of time is really driven home by singing Happy Birthday twenty five times in six weeks (I figure an average of five rounds of Happy Birthday per child) and throwing in Christmas carols to boot.

What this boils down to is that I am the Queen of the Holidays. I’m not suggesting that I’m about to whisk the immaculate turkey-shaped-folded-cloth-napkin-white-light crown from Martha Stewart’s coifed and calm head. Not even close. We are talking about Queen Thanksgiving and Christmas Spirit, folks.

We make handprint turkeys and construction paper cornucopias and real live turkey feather (dead turkey, rather. I’ve never plucked a feather from a live one.) headdresses to honour the native people who helped the settlers. We have a very Omnimedia-unapproved Christmas tree. Each year it is filled with odds and ends like homemade ornaments, bamboo umbrellas from our beloved and now defunct Chinese restaurant, and an ornament from my piano teacher when I was a kid. But there’s more. There are pieces of iridescent ribbon the children loved that they cut from a gift several years ago, rocks (Yes, rocks. My children love them.), twigs –because as one child said, “A tree can never have too many!”, and more often than not, a few lovingly arranged paper towels. I didn’t ask on that one. What I do know is that the child who does that has a look of rapture on his face when he does. That’s enough for me.

I burst into song with no provocation. I dance around the kitchen waving wooden spoons while my eyeballs glitter and my smile gleams (if a tea-soaked smile can do such a thing) at those who enter my lair. I brandish homemade cookies and cakes and bread and candies and dried fruit under the noses of anyone who says, “I’m hungry!” because the baking and the cooking reaches near manic levels.

Oh, the baking and the cooking.

What makes you feel the holiday spirit more than a scent of cookies or a rising loaf of bread wafting from the stove? I can’t think of a thing. I would add to the list, however, licking your fingers to remove the chocolate after breaking a freshly set batch of English toffee, a tall glass of cold eggnog, a steam-capped stockpot of simmering soup, and a pan of hot, soft rolls fresh from the oven, dotted with butter.

Topping the list of things that equal Thanksgiving to me are rolls: specifically, my grandmother’s rolls. You may remember me having an attack of guilt when I made another kind of rol l last week. They were the chief joy of the Thanksgivings of my youth and remain one of the biggest to this day. Her rolls are, in a word, perfect. My copy of her recipe, on an index card written in her hand, is one of my prize possessions. The soft, golden brown potato rolls with a touch of nutty whole wheat and a subtle hint of honey reliably disappear faster than the other fixings at the feast.

But there’s another wonderful reason to count on these rolls. You can make the dough, form the rolls, put them in pans, wrap them tightly and freeze them days in advance. To bake, thaw on the counter for about two hours, then let rise for another hour and a half. Bake and tada! Fresh rolls with all the hard work done well ahead of time.

Honey Potato Rolls

Soft, golden brown potato rolls with a touch of nutty whole wheat and a subtle hint of honey reliably disappear faster than the other fixings at the feast, but don't save them for Thanksgiving alone. If you're looking for the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of creamy soup, look no farther.

Ingredients

2 ¼ teaspoons (or one packet) yeast. Active Dry Yeast or Instant are both acceptable
1 ½ cups warm water (for best flavour, use the water in which you cooked potatoes)
2/3 cup honey
1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes
2/3 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
5 to 5 ½ cups all purpose flour

Instructions

To Make the Dough:

In a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water and honey, stir gently and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add everything but the flours and stir well (using a sturdy spoon or dough hook) to combine. Add the whole wheat flour and 2 cups of the all purpose flour and stir well until even. Add the remaining flour and stir it in. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to knead it. Otherwise, turn onto a generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about five minutes. Transfer the dough into a large clean mixing bowl or dough bucket, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours but no longer than 5 days.

To Shape the Rolls:

Grease or butter two 9”x13” rectangular or four 8” round baking pans and set them aside.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and punch it down. Divide in half, then portion each half into 20 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

Place the dough balls into the prepared pans (5 rows of 4 in each rectangular pan or 10 rolls in each round pan.) Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy in appearance and nearly doubled in size, about 2 hours.

To Bake the Rolls:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake the rolls for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. If desired, brush the finished rolls with melted butter.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/11/18/honey-potato-rolls/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Bread, Comfort Food, kid food, Rebecca, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: Bread, Christmas, kid friendly, party food, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian

No-Knead Rosemary Crescent Rolls

November 12, 2011 by Rebecca 10 Comments

Each Thanksgiving that I have spent as an adult, whether we were eating at home or taking to the road to visit relatives, I have made two kinds of rolls; Honey Potato Wheat Rolls and Crescent Rolls. The truth is, though, that I have eaten one or both of these every single Thanksgiving of my life. I grew up on them. Both of these roll recipes are handwritten by my grandmother on index cards with her notes and advice. I can almost feel a hug from Grandma when I hold the recipe cards in my hand. I can see her wink at me while turning away from everyone and giving a secretive jerk of her thumb over her shoulder toward the extra basket of rolls she stashed on top of the refrigerator for me. Well, I assumed they were from me. My Grandma wasn’t much given to secretive hand gestures.

I tell you this so you can understand how important those rolls are to me and how big a departure it was for me to even consider another roll. Don’t get me wrong, a gal can never have too many roll recipes*. But the mere thought of introducing a roll recipe that wasn’t my Grandma’s so close to Thanksgiving about gave me the vapours**.

*As evidenced by my over-the-jean roll against which I continually do Pilates battle.

**Not that my Grandma minds. She’s all about innovation at 85. I’m the one with the change issues.

All this to say that it would clearly take something pretty special to motivate me to play with a new roll recipe more than a week into November. And to try one that even superficially resembled my Grandma’s crescent rolls? GASP. I’m telling you, if I was in therapy, they’d tell me I was making progress. I’d hate to let them down, but I would have to be honest and say it’s because Zoë François of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day exercised some sort of voodoo mind control with her Rosemary Crescent Roll recipe. It was inevitable that I was going to make these. I am a sucker for all things rosemary. I said to myself, “I’m just going to try making these. It doesn’t mean I’ll make them for Thanksgiving.”

I decided to do a little experimentation and try ABin5′s Olive Oil Dough vs. my own No-Knead Semolina Dough recipe. I went all scientific for the job, too. I weighed dough. I rolled, prepared and baked it identically. I served it to an audience (Hi, Austins!) willing to observe my “this one in the right hand, this one in the left hand and never the twain shall meet” rule. They gamely ate two crescent rolls each (one of each variety) and pronounced them both really, really, really good. When I asked which they liked better, they pretty much agreed that they liked them both equally. The ABin5 one was narrowly pegged as the one they’d rather eat as a sandwich roll (because I made mine large) and my No-Knead Semolina Dough was narrowly preferred as the one to eat solo.

I turned to my husband as the tie-breaking vote. He ate one roll from each batch. He chewed thoughtfully. He contemplated. And then he said, “They’re both awesome. ”

So it looked like it was going to boil down to whichever dough I had on hand the next time I made the rolls, because there was obviously going to be a next time. The question was when. Then he said it.

“I think we should have these at Thanksgiving.” I looked at him like he had five heads. “B-b-but Grandma’s rolls!” I stammered.

“I just really like these. Both versions. If I had to choose, I’d go with these.” (And here he gestured with the hand holding the ones made from my semolina dough.)

Then I thought about how the crisp-crusted, soft-crumbed, rosemary enhanced rolls would taste sopping up gravy. I thought of slicing open a twisty, tender, herb studded crescent roll and stuffing in pieces of leftover roasted turkey and maybe, just maybe sneaking some cranberry sauce in to boot. I considered my late night Thanksgiving tradition of standing at the refrigerator door long after the kids are in bed and dunking a roll in the leftover gravy and I had a realization.

This year, there would be three kinds of rolls at our table.

Progress, she marches onward in the form of rosemary and bread. That kind of change I can live with.

No-Knead Rosemary Crescent Rolls

These crisp-crusted, soft-crumbed, rosemary studded rolls are perfect for sopping up gravy, leftover turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce,and late night dunking into the gravy boat in front of the refrigerator door. Bonus: They're created with dough you can make up to 10 days in advance of baking!

Ever so gently adapted from and with thanks to Zoë François

Ingredients

1 pound No-Knead Semolina Dough or olive oil dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.**
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Line a half-sheet pan (or two smaller baking sheets) with parchment and set aside.

Moderately flour a clean work surface and your ball of dough.

Roll the dough into a circle that is about 1/4-inch thick. Brush the circle generously with olive oil, sprinkle evenly with the chopped rosemary and sea salt.

Cut the circle into 8 equal wedges. Take one wedge into your hands and gently stretch the pointed end of it while holding onto the wide end to make the piece longer.

Lay the piece back on the work surface and pull the wide end to stretch it gently. Begin rolling the wide end tightly, jelly-roll style, toward the pointed end. When you get close to the pointed end, give it another gentle stretch and wrap it tightly around the center.

Lay each roll on the prepared pans, with the point side down to keep the dough rolled. Be sure to leave ample room between the rolls for expansion. If desired, curl the ends of the rolls gently toward the center to enhance the shape of the finished rolls. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free place for up to an hour, or until puffy.

Preheat oven to 475°F.

Brush the rolls one more time, generously, with olive oil then bake, rotating midway through the cooking time, for about 20 minutes, or until beautiful golden brown.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/11/12/no-knead-rosemary-crescent-rolls/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Do you have recipes that you break out every year or do you do something different every Thanksgiving? I must know!

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Comfort Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: Bread, budget friendly, dough, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, quick and easy, seasonal, Vegetarian

Individual Garlic Bread Braids

September 26, 2011 by Rebecca 16 Comments

Bread makes me happy. Garlic bread makes me happier. Individual garlic bread makes me even happier than that, but individual garlic bread that is braided makes me happiest of all. They hit all of the food points that make me nearly weepy*. You have a.) bread, b.) extra tasty bread, c.) cute bread, and d.) cute bread to the fiftieth power.

*I cannot be the only person who starts feeling a little teary over food they love. Come on. Somebody say it’s not just me…

Everyone loves individual servings. It’s like when you were a kid and you scraped together enough money to buy your own comic book or candy bar when your mom was grocery shopping. Remember how excited you got when the clerk put it in a bag by itself and handed it to you*? It was better than playing grown-up. You had arrived.

*Again, this isn’t just me, right?

Now, when I’m given an single serving size anything -bread, custard, cake (ooooh, cute little cake- not to be confused with cupcake), cornish game hen, or whatnot- I feel like I’m a kid again. So what is about individual servings that does it?

Theorizing about marginally useless stuff is one of my specialties, so I’ve given this some thought. It’s about feeling like someone took trouble to please you. When you get that perfectly-sized-for-one item, you feel like one of a kind. It seems like it was made just for you: like someone wants to make you happy. It feels like love.

There’s nothing wrong with buffet or family style meals; they’re what we serve here every night. But this is the little touch that says to each child, “I love you. This is for you and you alone. You are special.” That is always a good thing.

Do you want to make someone feel loved tonight? Put one of these tender, golden-brown, garlic and herb brushed braids next to their plate and watch their face light up. The day’s burdens ease a bit, the tension melts away like warm butter on hot bread, and the conversation flows just a bit more easily.

Individual Garlic Braids

Rating: 51

Yield: 6 servings

Serving Size: 1 braid

Put one of these tender, golden-brown, garlic and herb brushed braids next to dinner plates and watch faces light up. The day's burdens ease a bit, the tension melts away like warm butter on hot bread, and the conversation flows just a bit more easily.

Ingredients

4 cups (1 pound, 1 ounce, by weight) all-purpose flour
2 cups (11 1/2 ounces, by weight) semolina flour
3 teaspoons SAF or instant yeast
3 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons sugar or non-diastatic malt powder
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups (16 ounces, by weight or volume) lukewarm water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (or 1 clove fresh garlic, minced)
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings

Instructions

To Mix Dough By Hand:

Add all ingredients except oil, garlic, and seasonings to a large mixing bowl and stir together with a sturdy wooden spoon until you form a shaggy but cohesive dough. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, covered with a clean towel. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter top and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a clean bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

To Mix Dough By Stand Mixer:

Add all ingredients except the oil, garlic and seasonings to the work bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Turn mixer onto the lowest setting and mix until a shiny, elastic dough forms. Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

To Mix Dough By Bread Machine:

Add all ingredients except the oil, garlic and seasonings to the pan of your bread machine that has been fitted with the dough paddle(s). Set the bread machine on the dough setting and press start. When the cycle is completed, proceed with shaping…

To Shape the Dough:

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and form into a neat mass. Divide into 3 equally sized pieces. Divide each of those pieces in half. This will give you 6 pieces all together. Cover all but one piece with a tea towel.

Divide that one piece into 3 equally sized pieces.

Roll each piece lightly with the hands to form a rope between 10 and 12 inches long. Repeat with the other two pieces so that you have 3 ropes of roughly equal length. Line them up in parallel with the ends facing you.

Gently grasp the end of the rope on the far left. Lift it to about the center, leaving the far end on the counter, cross it over the rope nearest to it and lay it down. Now grasp the end of the piece on the far right and lift it to about the center, leaving its far end on the counter, cross it over the (now) center rope (which is the first one you moved) and lay it down. This is the manoeuver you will repeat – far left over center, far right over center, and so on- until you have ends too short to continue. At that point, pinch the ends together and tuck under the braid. Now go back to the center of the loaf and finish braiding the loaf toward the top. When you reach the ends, pinch together and tuck under. Transfer the braid to a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. (For a photographic how-to on braiding bread, visit this post .) Let rise in a warm place until puffy in appearance and about doubled in size.

While dough is rising, stir together the olive oil, garlic and Italian seasonings and preheat the oven to 400°F.

When the braids are puffy, brush generously with the olive oil mixture then bake on the center rack of the oven until deep golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.

Brush the finished bread again with the remaining olive oil mixture and let cool at least 10 minutes before eating.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/09/26/individual-garlic-bread-braids/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Instructional, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Bread, budget friendly, food gift, kid friendly, party food, Vegetarian

Homemade Hamburger Buns and a Giveaway!

May 23, 2011 by Rebecca 43 Comments

Would you believe I’ve been writing here for three years? Three years! I can hardly believe it. So much has changed over these years both in the ‘real world’ and here at my home on the internet. We moved to an Amish farmhouse, grew a teenager out of a little boy*, saw the end of the diaper era in our home (and my teenager would appreciate it if I’d point out that it wasn’t him wearing diapers a mere three years ago.), published more than three hundred recipes here, learned a little bit about using a camera, and made a lot of great new friends.

*The fact that I have a teenager sends my brain reeling. It’s not because of the ‘fear of the teenage years’ because my teen is a really awesome human. What knocks me out is the fact that I’m old enough to have one. If you’ll pardon me just a moment, I’m going to go double over and hyperventilate for a bit.

Three years ago, I posted the recipe for my favorite homemade burger rolls. If you look at the old post, you’ll see what I mean about changes. And yet, with everything that has become different in one way or another, these buns have remained our favorite hamburger and sandwich roll for more than just my tenure here on the interwebs. They have the staying power of a recipe that will in all likelihood -judging by the prodigious quantities eaten at mealtime- be one my kids make when they’re out on their own. They are truly that good.

With Memorial Day weekend -and with it the start of “official” grilling season- starting in seventy-two hours, it is time to get busy with our best summer-esque, barbecue and grill friendly recipes. This one is going to be what elevates whatever you choose to serve, whether it be hamburgers, grilled chicken or ham sandwiches, or a sliced, ripe tomato with mayonnaise and a paper thin layer of Vidalia onion.

Because the old post was still in my “play with the format” era, I’ve updated the recipe here to use my handy-dandy, new-fangled printable recipes. The old post will remain up, crazy formatting and all, to keep the beautiful comments from people who have become great friends and to remind me of how far I’ve come.

If you’re into compare and contrast, you’ll notice that this recipe is nearly identical to my homemade hot dog buns. The hot dog buns are formed differently and brushed with buttermilk. And in the old post, I specified using a water/egg yolk wash before topping the buns. These days, instead of a water and egg yolk wash on the buns, I’ve changed to an egg-only wash. This is a matter of personal preference. I like my buns (heh) with a little richer colour to them and I think the egg-only wash does that better. Besides, I’m awful at saving and using single leftover egg whites, so this is a two-birds-with-one-stone moment. Birds? Eggs?*

*Clearly one thing that has NOT changed is my love of really bad jokes.

5.0 from 4 reviews

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Author: Rebecca Lindamood

Recipe type: Bread

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 22 mins

Total time: 52 mins

Serves: 12

Golden brown, shiny, soft but sturdy, these hamburger/sandwich buns are good enough to steal the show from whatever you put on them. Whether you use them for glorious grilled burgers or simple fresh tomato sandwiches, happiness is guaranteed!

Ingredients

Ingredients for the dough:

1¼ cups lukewarm milk
1 large egg, beaten
6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons sugar
4 cups bread flour (You can substitute all-purpose flour if necessary.)
3 tablespoons instant potato flakes
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional, but it improves the final texture.)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast

To glaze the rolls:

1 large egg, beaten well

Optional toppings;

poppy seeds
sesame seeds
dehydrated garlic flakes (or minced garlic)
dehydrated onion flakes (or minced onion)
rosemary
coarse salt
caraway seeds
coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions

To mix dough in a bread machine:

Put all dough ingredients in the pan. Program bread machine for the dough cycle and hit start.

To mix dough in a stand mixer:

Put all dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed for 10 minutes, or until a smooth, elastic dough is formed. Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1-2 hours.

To mix dough by hand:

Add all dough ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use a sturdy wooden spoon or your hand to stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms, about 15 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1-2 hours.
To form rolls:
Lightly grease an 11-inch by 13-inch baking sheet or line with a silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
Divide dough into 3 equally sized pieces and form into logs.
Divide each log into 4 equal pieces.
Cup your hand over one piece at a time and roll in a clockwise motion until the surface of the roll is smooth and it has formed a tight ball.
Transfer to the lined baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between rolls.
Flatten gently with the palm of your hand, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Brush the puffy dough generously with beaten egg and sprinkle with desired toppings.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
Cool the rolls on a rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

To store leftovers:

Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to two days. They can be wrapped tightly and frozen for storage up to a month.

Notes

Choose the toppings for your rolls based on what you plan to serve inside them. For hamburgers, the sky is the limit, top it with as many things as you’d like. For grilled chicken, try a combination of rosemary, coarse salt and black pepper. For ham sandwiches, top with minced onion. For pulled pork or beef, top with minced onion, minced garlic and black pepper. For beef-on-weck, top with coarse salt and caraway seeds.

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This brings me to my giveaway. I’d like to give away a jar of my semi-demi-hemi famous Candied Jalapenos to two readers here plus one to a Facebook or Twitter follower. (Speaking of things that make burgers and sandwiches better…) It’s a two-birds-with-one-stone moment, too.

Do you have a thing for spicy food or have a loved one you’d like to give these to as a gift? Here’s how you get in the running… Tell me you want some in the comments. If you’re a Facebook or Twitter follower and you want one let me know! As usual, I’m not big on the complicated contest rules. I just wanted to thank you all.

…I do have a little request, though. Could you please tell me what types of things you’d like to see here? Would you like more step-by-step tutorials? More frugal meal options? More ethnic food? More money-saving tips? More desserts? Okay. You caught me. The fact is, there will always be desserts here. There’s no getting out of that, but otherwise, what do you want to see? I can’t wait to see where we all take each other in the next three years.

Thank you all!

Filed Under: Bread, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Bread, budget friendly, kid friendly, party food

Cinnamon Rolls on a Stick

May 20, 2011 by Rebecca 6 Comments

Why is it that when you put food on a stick it tastes better? This isn’t just a Minnesota/Midwest thing. This is worldwide. Every country on earth has a favorite food-on-a-stick.

Is it that we all secretly want to be Paul Bunyan, able to uproot pine trees and use them as toothpicks? Do we all have a lumberjack-giant-in-a-flannel-shirt complex? Maybe we all want to be Harry Potter, wand at the ready to make delectable treats magically appear. Accio Corndog! Engorgio Hot-Chocolate-on-a-Stick! Yes, please. And now.

Whatever the reason, even if it’s a simple an explanation as the desire to hold food in one hand and a cold drink in the other with no interruption, the universal appeal is undeniable. The next time you hit a county fair or -God love you- a state fair, have a look at the faces of everyone flitting around the corndog, candy apple and pickle-on-a-stick vendors. I guarantee smiles.

And while we’re on the subject of food that makes everyone happy, let’s talk about cinnamon rolls for a moment. It was an awfully brilliant thing to do, that first ever cinnamon roll. Surely they’ve achieved sainthood for that alone. These days there are more versions of cinnamon rolls out there than you can possibly count but they are all essentially bread, butter, sugar, and cinnamon packaged up nicely for your eating pleasure.

Anyone who has spent a little time slogging around food blogs has probably heard of Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls. They’re everywhere. Everyone is making them. Everyone including my little sister, Christina, (an accomplished chef) who called me and said, “Have you MADE these yet? The dough is a dream. Grandma and Grandpa said they’ll buy ingredients if Aunt Gerri promises to keep them in cinnamon rolls. You have to make them.” This was followed by a call from my stepmom who said, “They really are good. And I did a bunch of different versions with them. You need to try them.” Okay. I can take a hint. Subtle as they were, I was picking up on the fact that they really liked the rolls. I whipped up a batch of the dough and parked it in the refrigerator for a couple days (PW handily pointed out that it would sit comfortably in the chill chest until you were ready to make zee rolls.)

For no good reason at all, I waited until the last possible moment to make the rolls. Inspiration had left the building with Elvis. I was feeling very not-cinnamon-roll-makery. However, I hate to waste food, so I dragged myself to the kitchen in a “get it over with” frame of mind. While getting out my rolling pin, I knocked down a package of caramel apple sticks and Elvis reentered the house arm-in-arm with inspiration. I was going to put my cinnamon rolls on a stick, dangit.

Christina and Val were right. The dough rolled out like a dream, I poured on melted butter, shook on raw sugar and loads of Korintje Cinnamon, then rolled, sliced, and skewered like a mad woman*.

*If you’re familiar with her recipe, you know that it makes approximately 4,000 cinnamon rolls per batch. I put half of the batch on sticks and stuck the other half into greased pans, as specified. If you want to skewer the whole batch, you’ll need more candied apple sticks than I had or a good source of popsicle sticks. Because I love you, I’ve halved her recipe for this situation so that you don’t have cinnamon rolls on a stick coming out of your ears.Yes. Me. I halved a recipe. This is a banner day.

In lieu of glazing all of the cinnamon rolls I opted to up the ante and make it that much more fun. I made a creamy, warm vanilla bean dippable glaze. I misjudged the quantity needed and ended up with roughly a gallon of the stuff. My kids were happily dunking their mitts into the container long after the cinnamon rolls were gone. There were glazed handprints on doors, windows, dressers, mirrors and the back of my shirt. I promise you the glaze recipe has been appropriately sized since then.

Can you imagine the joy of cinnamon rolls on sticks? My kids went bonkers for them. They lounged around, feet up, munching happily through the entire batch. And there were smiles. Oh. The smiles were abundant.

P.S. Picture these, wrapped up with cellophane and ribbons at a bake sale. I bet they would sell so quickly they would practically vaporize.

P.P.S. On a completely unrelated note, I get a fit of the giggles every time I write a recipe up that includes the instructions “Cool to lukewarm.” I have a little brother named Luke. You see the issue? I visualize everyone testing their lukewarm mixture against my brother. He’s a cuddly guy. He might not mind.

Cinnamon Rolls on a Stick

Author: Rebecca Lindamood (adapted gently from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman)

Recipe type: Dessert, Breakfast

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Serves: 24

Melt-in-your-mouth, buttery, tender Cinnamon Rolls on a Stick served with warm, creamy Vanilla Bean Glaze as dip. Breakfast just got seriously fun.

Ingredients

Ingredients for cinnamon roll dough:

2 cups whole milk
½ cup canola or vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast (or 1 packet active dry yeast)
4 cups +1/2 cup, separated, all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons kosher salt

Ingredients for filling:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) melted butter
1 cup raw sugar
¼ cup ground cinnamon

Ingredients for Vanilla Bean Glaze Dip:

4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup warm whole milk or half and half
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (preferably with flecks of real vanilla bean)
Optional: 1 teaspoon ground vanilla (see below recipe for source)

Instructions

Stir together milk, oil, and sugar in a large, heavy saucepan over medium high heat.
Stir frequently until it is quite hot and bubbles form around the edge of the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat and cool to lukewarm.
When the milk mixture is lukewarm, sprinkle the yeast over it and let it sit, undisturbed, for 1 minute.
Mix 4 cups of all-purpose flour into the milk and yeast mixture until there are no dry pockets of flour.
Let rise for an hour in a warm, draft-free place.
After an hour, stir in the baking soda, baking powder, and remaining cup of flour until you have a cohesive dough.
Place pan in the refrigerator, lightly covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

To prepare the rolls:

Line 4 cookie sheets (or half sheet pans) with parchment paper, silpats or teflon baking liners (or grease generously.)
Sprinkle a clean counter generously with flour.
Turn the dough onto the counter and pat into a rectangle.
Roll out into a long rectangle that is about ¼-inch thick.
Pour the melted butter evenly over the dough.
Scatter the raw sugar evenly over the butter.
Sprinkle the ground cinnamon evenly over the sugar.
Starting at the edge closest to you, roll the dough tightly into a tube then pinch the seams to seal.
Use a bench knife or other knife to cut the dough into 1-inch thick rounds.
Transfer each round to the prepared pans, being sure to leave 3-4 inches between each roll.
Carefully insert a popsicle stick or caramel apple stick into the side of each roll of dough. Gently turn the stick a little from side to side while pushing further into the roll. The stick should go almost all the way through stopping just short of exiting the other side.
Let rise for 30-40 minutes, or until puffy.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the rolls are deep golden brown.
Cool on pans for 15 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. (See notes.)
When rolls are completely cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, warm milk, melted butter, and vanilla(s) until smooth. Serve the warm glaze with the cooled cinnamon rolls.

Notes

If you try to eat these off of the stick while still warm, they have a tendency to disintegrate. It’s best to serve them completely cooled with warm glaze for dip.

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Ground Vanilla Beans Korintje Cinnamon

Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast Foods, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Bread, Breakfast, kid friendly, party food

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

May 17, 2011 by Rebecca 27 Comments

I make my own hot dog buns.

I’ve had a couple friends tell me -in the most loving way possible- that I’m off my nut for making hot dog buns. “You can get them anywhere! You’re certifiable!”

Why in heaven’s name would I make hot dog buns when there are so many available to buy? The short answer is because I have never been able to buy a hot dog bun that holds a candle to these*.

*Every hot dog bun I’ve ever purchased has one or more of three massive problems; too soft, too stale, too crumbly. More often than not, that’s compounded with funky, nasty preservatives and ingredients that I try to avoid giving my family. (Hellooooo, High Fructose Corn Syrup. I’m looking at you.)

These buns are the be-all-and-end-all, the ne plus ultra, the Hot-Diggity-Dog of hot dog buns. They’re buttery. They have real flavour! They’re soft on the inside with a fine textured crumb, but they have a little chew to them. Unlike their styrofoam store-shelf cousins, my buns hold up to whatever toppings you want to load onto your hot dog. Wanna Matlock dog*? These are the buns for the job.

*Does referencing Matlock age me? I feel my hair turning blue just saying it. Seriously, though, Matlock knew how to eat a hot dog. Because he was a real man, right? Just as real as Opie Cunningham.

Just look at this. Can you imagine a store bought roll that comes close to being able to do this?

I promise you that this held all of those toppings when I hoisted this chili dog to my mouth. It held on clear through the ritual sopping up of the chili from the plate.

For the record: Those friends who thought I was bonkers do so no longer because they’ve all eaten my hot dog buns now. They are convinced.

So yeah. It takes a little longer to make your own buns than to buy them. I’m not a nincompoop, though. I use my time and effort where it makes the biggest difference. And here? It makes a world of difference here.

While it does take a little time, it’s not a difficult process. Before I get to the recipe, I want to show you how to form the rolls. If you already know how to do this, scroll to the bottom for the recipe. The key to making the best hot dog buns is to try to cut your dough into (roughly) equal-sized pieces before you begin forming it.

Each batch of dough makes fifteen standard sized buns or twelve large hoagie or Italian sausage style buns. I have a double batch here. You start by dividing each batch of dough into 3 pieces of equal size or weight. I’m partial to using my kitchen scale to ensure I’m breaking the dough down into close-to-equal sized pieces. Is this necessary? Not strictly, but it makes my little inner Obsessive Compulsive Chef sing for joy. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, or refuse to use one on moral grounds, just eyeball it and do your best to break them down equally. Gently form each piece into an oblong log.

Cut each of the logs into 5 equal pieces for standard sized hot dog buns or 4 equal pieces for Italian sausage or hoagie rolls. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into an oval. (You can see inches marked on the bottom of the dough mat I used.)

Use the edge of your hand to indent the dough down the length of the center of the dough.

Roll the dough around the indentation you created.

Lightly pinch together the seam.

Turn the dough seam side down and use the flats of your hands to roll it back and forth until it reaches about 6-inches in length. Tuck any funky shaped ends under so you have a tube of dough with flat ends.

After rising and before baking, brush the rolls generously with buttermilk. (Remember how easy it is to make your own?)

4.7 from 3 reviews

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

Author: Rebecca Lindamood

Recipe type: Bread

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 22 mins

Total time: 52 mins

Serves: 12-15

Homemade Hot Dog Buns elevate an ordinary hot dog meal into an extraordinary experience. Soft, buttery, flavourful, and able to hold up to infinite toppings, these buns put all supermarket rolls to shame.

Ingredients

1¼ cups lukewarm milk
1 large egg, beaten
6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons sugar
4 cups bread flour (You can substitute all-purpose flour if necessary.)
3 tablespoons instant potato flakes
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional, but it improves the final texture.)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup of cultured buttermilk, for brushing

Instructions

To mix dough in a bread machine:

Put all ingredients except for the buttermilk in the pan. Program bread machine for the dough cycle and hit start.

To mix dough in a stand mixer:

Put all ingredients except the buttermilk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed for 10 minutes, or until a smooth, elastic dough is formed. Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1-2 hours.

To mix dough by hand:

Add all ingredients except for the buttermilk to a large mixing bowl. Use a sturdy wooden spoon or your hand to stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms, about 15 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1-2 hours.

To form rolls:

Lightly grease an 11-inch by 13-inch baking sheet or line with a silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
Divide dough into 3 equally sized pieces and form into logs.
Divide each log into 5 equal pieces for standard sized rolls or 4 equal pieces for larger Italian sausage or hoagie rolls.
Working with one piece at a time, pat each piece out into an oval.
Press an indentation down the length of the center of the oval with the side of your hand.
Roll the dough up around the indentation.
Pinch the seam together lightly.
Roll the pieces gently seam side down until about 6-inches in length.
Transfer to the lined baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between the pieces, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Brush the puffy dough generously with buttermilk.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
Cool the rolls on a rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

To serve as a hot dog or sausage roll:

Make a slice down the center of the top of the roll nearly through to the bottom. Gently pry open with your fingers to hold the hot dog or sausage.

To serve as a hoagie or sandwich roll:

Lay the roll on its side and slice it in half about midway up the roll.

To store leftovers:

Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to two days. They can be wrapped tightly and frozen for storage up to a month.

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Filed Under: Bread, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Bread, budget friendly, dough, kid friendly, party food, Vegetarian

Garlic Butter Soft Pretzel Bites

March 25, 2011 by Rebecca 6 Comments

I declare soft pretzels in their many forms to be my all-time favorite snack food with ZERO exceptions. Sure, there are many other delicious things with which to satisfy a snack attack, but there is nothing to compare to the pure satisfaction of biting into a chewy, salty, warm, soft pretzel. With mustard. Lots of mustard*.

*I suppose, strictly speaking, that the mustard is optional, but not for me. No way. I need a good schmear of mustard, be it fancy-pants grainy or generic yellow squeeze bottle variety.

I’ve eaten soft pretzels that were hanging for goodness knows how long in glass boxes on metal hangers under heat lamps at hockey and baseball games, from the depths of steam-table street-cart vendors in Germany, microwaved from little boxes and from mall food courts. They were all more or less edible, some more edible than others. I’m looking at you Germany. You make a mean pretzel.

It takes a lot of work to really botch a soft pretzel. It can be done, mind you, but you have to put some serious effort behind the failure. I’ll happily consume even a mediocre soft pretzel over a milkshake any day of the week. (Although a soft pretzel/milkshake repast would be ever so delightful.)

Howevah… Truly wonderful soft pretzels are a thing of joy. And homemade soft pretzels are past wonderful and parked firmly in the “The Best Soft Pretzel You’ll Ever Have” camp.

One marvey thing about homemade soft pretzels is that you can cook them to whatever level of pretzel brown-ness you love best. Most of the time I like them deep, deep brown; I like them to look almost like they’ve put one little pretzel toe into overdone territory. They fool you, those little beauties. When done to that stage, the outside is chewy to the point of making you look like a dog with a rawhide but they’re still soft on the inside. Of course, if your teeth or jaws like a little less fight from the food, you can back off the cooking time and go for a more golden brown. They’re still sublime.

For these little honeys, I like to make quick work of the process and simply roll the dough into ropes then cut into bite sized pieces. If you prefer the traditional braided pretzel, you’re welcome to do it, but the roll-and-cut method yields one-to-two bite pretzels in record speed. Besides, I have a thing for bite sized food. It’s small so it has fewer calories so you can eat more, right? Right?!?

And when you’ve gone to the effort of making your own pretzels, why not top the knob? Garlic butter is everything a soft pretzel ever wanted and more. It leaves your fingers buttery and garlicky and you are forced -nay, compelled!- to lick your fingers your fingers clean of salt and garlic butter after each perfect little pretzel bite.

I have a promise to make to you. If you lay out a platter full of these, a bucket full of iced root beers or fruit spritzers, and a pile of napkins for a party or a picnic or a bunch of your kids’ friends, you will be the most popular person/spouse/parent/loved one in. the. world. This is my boys’ friends’ most often requested snack. I always say yes. Always. It’s part of my master plan to be the go-to house. I’d ask my kids’ friends whether it’s working, but their mouths are currently full of soft pretzel.

Garlic Butter Soft Pretzel Bites

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Yield: A bunch

Ingredients for dough:

4 cups (1 pound 1 ounce, by weight) bread flour
1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder (preferably) or sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup hot tap water
2 teaspoons SAF or instant yeast

Ingredients for pretzel boil:

2 quarts water
2 tablespoons baking soda

Ingredients for toppings:

1 egg white, whisked until frothy
Coarse sea salt, kosher salt or pretzel salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted, mixed with 1/2-1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (or 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic)

To Make the Dough by Hand:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast. Set the whisk aside and switch to a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir in the milk and tap water until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a generously floured surface and knead, adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep the dough from adhering to the counter. You do not want a firm dough… it should be fairly slack, a little tacky and soft, yet smooth. Place dough in a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.

To Make the Dough by Stand Mixer:

In the work-bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast. Mix on low just to combine dry ingredients. With mixer still on low, carefully pour in the milk and water. Continue mixing on low until you have a smooth, soft, slightly tacky dough. Remove bowl from the mixer, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.

To Make the Dough by Bread Machine:

Add the milk, water, flour, malt powder or sugar, and yeast to the pan of your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the “Dough” or “Dough Only” cycle and hit start. Allow the cycle to complete.

To Form Pretzel Bites:

Line two 11×13-inch baking sheets with silicone or teflon pan liners. Set next to your work area.

Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. Use a bench knife to cut the dough into four pieces. Keep three pieces covered with a tea towel while working with the first. Roll the piece like play-dough until you have a snake of dough about the circumference of two thumbs squashed together. Use your bench knife to cut 1-inch pieces from the dough snake. Transfer the dough pieces onto the lined baking sheets, being sure to leave generous amounts of room between pieces and rows. They will expand both as they rise and again as they boil and bake. When you have dealt with all the dough, cover the pans with tea towels and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy looking, about 20 minutes.

To Cook the Pretzels:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan (enameled cast-iron, tempered glass, etc…) When water boils, add the baking soda. Gently lift the pretzel dough pieces one at a time into the boiling water. (You can boil more than one at a time, but be sure not to crowd the the pan as they will expand as they boil. Let simmer for about 45 seconds, flip the pieces and simmer for another 45 seconds-1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to drain and return each piece to its place on the pan. Continue until all pieces have been boiled and returned to the pan.

Brush all pieces of dough with the frothy egg white and sprinkle with coarse salt. Place pans in oven and bake at least until golden brown (at least 15 minutes), but you can bake until they are deep brown. It’s up to you!

Remove the pans from the oven and brush the pretzels with the garlic butter. If you have leftover garlic butter, you can place the pretzels in a large mixing bowl and toss with the remaining butter.

Serve warm or room temperature. I like mine with classic yellow mustard.

Garlic Butter Soft Pretzel Bites

Author: Rebecca Lindamood

Recipe type: Snack, Appetizer

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8

Perfect, chewy, rich-brown, garlic butter brushed two-bite soft pretzels. Alone or with a cold root beer, these make the perfect after school snack or party food!

Ingredients

Ingredients for dough:
4 cups (1 pound 1 ounce, by weight) bread flour
1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder (preferably) or sugar
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
½ cup hot tap water
2 teaspoons SAF or instant yeast
Ingredients for pretzel boil:
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Ingredients for toppings:
1 egg white, whisked until frothy
Coarse sea salt, kosher salt or pretzel salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted, mixed with ½-1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (or ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic)

Instructions

To Make the Dough by Hand:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast. Set the whisk aside and switch to a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir in the milk and tap water until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a generously floured surface and knead, adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep the dough from adhering to the counter. You do not want a firm dough… it should be fairly slack, a little tacky and soft, yet smooth. Place dough in a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.
To Make the Dough by Stand Mixer:
In the work-bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast. Mix on low just to combine dry ingredients. With mixer still on low, carefully pour in the milk and water. Continue mixing on low until you have a smooth, soft, slightly tacky dough. Remove bowl from the mixer, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.
To Make the Dough by Bread Machine:
Add the milk, water, flour, malt powder or sugar, and yeast to the pan of your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the “Dough” or “Dough Only” cycle and hit start. Allow the cycle to complete.
To Form Pretzel Bites:
Line two 11×13-inch baking sheets with silicone or teflon pan liners. Set next to your work area.
Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. Use a bench knife to cut the dough into four pieces. Keep three pieces covered with a tea towel while working with the first. Roll the piece like play-dough until you have a snake of dough about the circumference of two thumbs squashed together. Use your bench knife to cut 1-inch pieces from the dough snake. Transfer the dough pieces onto the lined baking sheets, being sure to leave generous amounts of room between pieces and rows. They will expand both as they rise and again as they boil and bake. When you have dealt with all the dough, cover the pans with tea towels and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy looking, about 20 minutes.
To Cook the Pretzels:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan (enameled cast-iron, tempered glass, etc…) When water boils, add the baking soda. Gently lift the pretzel dough pieces one at a time into the boiling water. (You can boil more than one at a time, but be sure not to crowd the the pan as they will expand as they boil. Let simmer for about 45 seconds, flip the pieces and simmer for another 45 seconds-1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to drain and return each piece to its place on the pan. Continue until all pieces have been boiled and returned to the pan.
Brush all pieces of dough with the frothy egg white and sprinkle with coarse salt. Place pans in oven and bake at least until golden brown (at least 15 minutes), but you can bake until they are deep brown. It’s up to you!
Remove the pans from the oven and brush the pretzels with the garlic butter. If you have leftover garlic butter, you can place the pretzels in a large mixing bowl and toss with the remaining butter.
Serve warm or room temperature. I like mine with classic yellow mustard.