Soft Pretzels

1/2 to 3/4 C sugar (depending on taste)
1 T yeast (or one small package)
approximately 5 C flour
2 C warm water
kosher salt
oil or butter
3 T baking powder

Activate yeast by combining yeast, warm water and sugar, stir and let stand for approximately five minutes, or until yeast is activated (bubbly). Add in flour until you get a soft dough consistency. Kneed dough until soft and smooth. Form the dough into a ball and cover in a well oiled bowl for approximately 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Once dough has risen,  preheat your oven to 350f.  Softly flatten and divide the dough into desired proportions for the pretzels. You can make small or large pretzels. Roll each proportion into a long roll and make a pretzel shape. Dip the pretzel into a bowl of warm water mixed with baking powder and then place onto an floured cooking sheet. You can coat the pretzels with any topping, including butter, oil, kosher salt or cinnamon and sugar.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.

I like to coat the pretzels with butter when I remove them from the oven and use a bit more salt. Enjoy!

Fresh Baked Dinner Rolls with Honey and Sea Salt

Fresh Baked Dinner Rolls with Honey and Sea Salt

Ingredients:

31/2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting
3 tsp dried instant yeast
1 Tablespoons caster sugar (a fine baking sugar, granulated will work)
11/2 cups milk
5 Tablespoons (2 1/2 oz by volume)

For topping:
1 egg, beaten
1 tbs milk
1/2 C warm honey

Sea salt



Combine flour with yeast, sugar and 1 tbsp of salt in a large mixing bowl.

Warm milk and butter over medium heat until butter begins to melt (around 2 minutes). Pour butter and milk mixture into dry ingredients and mix with a fork to make a rough dough. If it seems too sticky, add a little more flour. Using a machine with a dough hook or your hands, knead with until the dough is smooth and silky. This should take around 5 minutes.

Put the ball of dough into a greased bowl and turn to coat.. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise for around 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Grease a baking sheet. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Pull off golf-ball sized pieces of dough and form into little balls, forming them into five rows of six rolls. Place them no more than 1/4 inch apart on all sides to ensure that they meet once risen. Cover the rolls with a light towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 F.

When rolls have re-puffed, beat together egg and milk to make the glaze. Brush the rolls tops with this mixture. Bake the rolls for around 15 minutes until they are golden brown.  Brush rolls with warm honey and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Serve immediately or transfer to a wire rack to cool.



This is a soft white roll that, I think, is easy to prepare.  This is a recipe that can be used any time of the year but makes an excellent addition to a holiday table. 

To freeze rolls (best done same day of baking) cool, double-wrap with cling film and pop into freezer.