Homemade Soft Pretzels

Via

I’ve had several requests for this recipe recently, so I thought I’d post it in a central location! :)  I can’t take credit for this recipe though because I only just got it from my cousin a couple weeks ago.  I don’t have a good picture of them -- here is a small, poorly lit photo if you’re really curious.  

Here is what you’ll need:

2 cups water

2 tablespoons yeast

1/3 cup brown sugar

6 cups flour

Kosher Salt

And ½ cup baking soda—But don’t add this to the dough!

Directions:

To activate the yeast: pour 2 cups cool water into a large liquid measuring cup and microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Dissolve 1/3 cup brown sugar into the warm water and let it sit for a minute or so to let it cool slightly.  Then dissolve the 2 tablespoons yeast into the warm water/sugar mixture. Set aside and let the yeast do its thing! (It should have a rather thick foamy top after a short while…)

In a separate, larger bowl combine the active yeast mixture with 6 cups flour and mix until it is a dough.  Let the dough sit for anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour. The longer you wait the better and fluffier the dough will be.  At the beginning of this waiting period, fill a large pot about halfway with water and bring to a boil—pour in the ½ cup of baking soda at some point during its heating process.

Preheat oven to 420 degrees.

When the dough is ready, you can roll it and make the pretzel shape. I usually just roll it into small bite-size pieces because it’s easier… but it’s definitely not as fancy. ;-) Place each pretzel into the boiling water with baking soda for about 15 seconds then take them out, place them on a baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt. (Hint: place parchment paper on the baking pans before placing the pretzels down. This will keep them from sticking to the pan.)

Bake the pretzels until they are evenly browned. (The length of time will vary depending on the size of the pretzels.)

And you’re done! 

A bowl of soul

When I lived in Chico, one of my favorite places to have breakfast on the weekends was a place called Sin of Cortez.  They served scrumptious breakfasts that were made mostly from locally grown produce. (Buying items that are locally made, grown, or brewed is a huge deal to Chicoans. Eventually I got to the point where I was on-board with the idea although it was a huge culture shock to me at first.) 

Anyway, one of the drinks at Sin of Cortez is called a "bowl of soul." They don't publicize their recipe but based on their menu I know that this concoction includes soy milk, chamomile tea and cinnamon. Today I set out to recreate it at home! As I am without many snazzy machines that can be found in coffee shops (i.e. a milk steamer) I had to use ingenuity! Here is what I did:

Pour about 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups soy milk into a small sauce pan and add a couple drops of pure vanilla extract. (I was going to let a real vanilla bean steep in the milk, but I forgot to grab one at the store...typical Natalie.) I whisked this over medium heat until it was slightly warm. I added about 1/2 teaspoon sugar (I think I'll try honey or brown sugar next time for fun) and continued whisking. When the milk was just a little bit warmer and the sugar had dissolved I put in one chamomile tea bag and whisked around the bag until the milk was as warm as I like it. I poured the concoction into my big mug and sprinkled the top with cinnamon.

There you have it: a bowl of soul. And it was down right delicious!