Pretzel fail

One of the things I have been meaning to get around to for some time is making some pretzels. Not the crunchy twiglet-type things you get in packets, but proper Bavarian-style, fresh, soft bread pretzels.

You can't buy them at bakeries here so the only thing to do is make my own.

I thought the hard part would be finding a source of food-grade caustic soda (the shaped pretzels are dipped in a weak solution of this before baking, which is what gives them their glossy brown skin).

But as I found out, the really difficult part is shaping them. Making an even sausage of dough is more difficult than it looks.



The professionals make it look so easy (thanks to www.brezel-baecker.de for the video)!

I used my normal yeasted bread dough of about 65% hydration. Maybe I should try it with a firmer dough. In fact, I've just found a recipe for pretzel dough with just 50% hydration so I'll try that next.

Acetic bread

Note to self: don't make bread dough and then leave it in the fridge all week.

I remembered it this morning and bunged it in the oven. While it was baking, the kitchen smelled like a chip shop from the amount of acetic acid vapour the bread gave off.

Pity, because it has a fantastic crumb and lovely texture. It's just really sour.

bread with sprouted wheat grains

Hmm, well I was out at the pub longer than I expected, so the dough had overflowed the tin by the time I got home to bake it. Boo. Pics in a bit, maybe.