Making Soft Pretzels

Today I wanted to finish some goodies on my list for the kids - a few foods which we might have purchased only a few months ago, organic, whole grain of course, but nevertheless still from a factory and with preservatives no one really needs.

So, working away from that list, I chose to make soft pretzels for the kids - actually they were far easier then I imagined and turned out nice. I am not a big pretzel eater, perhaps if they were in front of me I might try them, however, a salty snack is always nice.

Once these were made however, we used them for something entirely different! Read on to find out....

To make soft pretzels all you need are the basics - flour, baking soda, salt, something sweet and buttermilk. I think you could probably use milk or water in there with good results as well. 

I would not usually have buttermilk in the house - to make it, you have to pour 1 tablespoon of vinegar into 1 cup of milk. For the sweetener I used some of our own honey, but this could easily be maple syrup, agave nectar or apple concentrate.

Flour for pretzels - 2 kinds of organic spelt

I found mention online of how these turn out best after being dipped into a solution of baking soda (1/3 cup) to 5 cups of water boiled. This solution is brought to a boil and allowed to sit on the side until you are ready to use it.

To prepare the pretzels, place 3 cups of flour (I used half white spelt and half whole grain spelt) baking soda, honey and the buttermilk into a large bowl. Mix this up until a ball forms, taking all the flour with it.

Making pretzels 

Break this ball up into 8 to 10 pieces or turn it all out onto a floured surface. I found breaking off a piece and then rolling it on the flour for a few minutes worked best. Once each piece of dough was rolled out, twist into the pretzel shape.

Next, taking a lifter with holes to drain the water, dip each pretzel into the baking soda water solution and quickly transfer to a baking sheet. Make sure they are not dripping wet - allow the water to run off as much as possible.

Ready for the oven 

This wetness will allow the toppings to stick - I used a Japanese sesame, seaweed mix with some sea salt on mine. Once they were well coated, I popped them in the oven for about 10 - 12 minutes. 

And there you have it! They were soft, chewy and very tasty. We actually used them as mini buns for our lamb burgers (I made walnut pesto and mild mustard for toppings) and these worked perfectly, with the salt and sesame seeds, to provide a nice crunch. 

I made lots of other tasty treats yesterday as well - including another flapjack recipe which did not hold together at all. But, all was not lost, because I used the crumbled oats as a topping for a banana cake with goat's cheese, maple syrup icing. Yumm!!

Have a healthy processed food free day!

April

soft, chewy pretzels!