Salty Soft Pretzels

Salty Soft Pretzels
Recipe provided courtesy of King Arthur Flour

For the dough
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup warm water*
*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

For the topping
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons baking soda
coarse, kosher or pretzel salt, optional (use a meat pounder on coarse salt for finer granules)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1) To make dough by hand, or with a mixer: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat until well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it's soft, smooth, and quite slack. Flour the dough and place it in a bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

2) To make dough with a bread machine: Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, program the machine for dough or manual, and press START. Allow the dough to proceed through its kneading cycle (no need to let it rise), then cancel the machine, flour the dough, and give it a rest in a plastic bag, as instructed above.

3) To make dough with a food processor: Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the work bowl of a food processor equipped with the steel blade. Process for 5 seconds. Add the water, and process for 7 to 10 seconds, until the dough starts to clear the sides of the bowl. Process for another 45 seconds. Place a handful of flour in a bowl, scoop the slack dough into the bowl, and shape the dough into a ball, coating it with the flour. Transfer the dough to a plastic bag, close the bag loosely, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

4) While the dough is resting, prepare the topping: Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost totally) dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm (or cooler).

5) Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil spray, or lining it with parchment paper.

6) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each).

7) Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Pour the baking soda/water into a 9" square pan.

8) Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28" to 30" long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Working with 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color.

9) Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt, if desired. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

10) Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

11) Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Yield: 8 large pretzels.

Apple Pie

Recipe: All-Purpose Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold

3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

Yolk of 1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1/4 cup water, from 3/4 cup ice water.

1. Using your fingertips or the pulse function of a food processor, blend together the flour, fats and salt until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. There should be pebbles of butter throughout the mixture.

2. Add egg yolk and vinegar to ¾ cup ice water and stir to combine. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of this mixture over the dough and gently stir or pulse to combine. Gather a golfball-size bit of dough and squeeze to combine. If it does not hold together, add a little more of the liquid and stir or pulse, then check again. Repeat as necessary.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather together into a rough ball. You want to be careful not to overwork the flour, but not too careful; the dough should hold together. Divide the ball in half with a knife or a pastry scraper, then divide each portion in half again, and again, to create eight portions. Using the heel of your hand, flatten each portion of dough once or twice to expand the pebbles of butter, then gather the dough together again in one ball. Divide this ball in half.

4. Flatten each ball into a 5- or 6-inch disc and dust lightly with flour. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes.

Recipe: Apple Pie

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled and cored, then cut into wedges (5 large honeycrisps will do it)

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 recipe all-purpose pie dough

1 egg, lightly beaten.

1. Melt butter in a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat and add apples to the pan. Stir to coat fruit with butter and cook, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk together the spices, salt and 2/3 cup sugar, and sprinkle this over the pan, stirring to combine. Lower heat and cook until apples have started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the flour and cornstarch over the apples and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add cider vinegar, stir and scrape fruit mixture into a bowl and allow to cool completely. (The fruit mixture will cool faster if spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.)

2. Place a large baking sheet on the middle rack of oven and preheat to 425. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and, using a pin, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 12 inches in diameter. Fit this crust into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming it to leave a 1/2-inch overhang. Place this plate, with the dough, in the freezer.

3. Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 10 or 11 inches in diameter.

4. Remove pie crust from freezer and put the cooled pie filling into it. Cover with remaining dough. Press the edges together, trim the excess, then crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Using a sharp knife, cut three or four steam vents in the top of the crust. Lightly brush the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar.

5. Place pie in oven and bake on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375. Continue to cook until the interior is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool on a windowsill or kitchen rack, about two hours.

Ham and Broccoli Breakfast Casserole

From the kitchen of Erin Chase

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Servings:Over 8

Difficulty: Easy

Cook Time: 30-60 min

The perfect no-fuss make-ahead breakfast casserole for a holiday morning. Let this delicious breakfast casserole sit in the fridge overnight...and just pop it in and let it bake as you open presents and celebrate the holidays. This casserole has the perfect blend of flavors and textures, and will not disappoint your family and guests.The extra-sharp cheddar cheese gives this egg casserole a flavor boost you'll love.

For more great recipes from Erin Chase, take a look at her website, 5dollardinners.com.

Ingredients

4 whole wheat English muffins, cut into bite size pieces

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups leftover ham, diced

8 oz. block extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

12 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper

Cooking Directions

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, toss together the cut English muffin pieces with the broccoli florets, diced ham and about 3/4 cup of the shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Once tossed, pour into the baking dish.

In the same mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, paprika and crushed red pepper. Add in a few dashes of salt and pepper as well.

Pour the egg mixture over top of the ingredients in the baking dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, sprinkle the remaining shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese over top of the casserole. Bake, covered, at 375 for 45 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the casserole puffs up and slightly browns on top.

Serve warm to hungry women at church brunch, or to your own hungry brood!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

For the sugar cookies:

¾ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla extract

2.5 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

For the icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

1 tablespoon water or 1.5 tablespoons cream

Cooking Directions

Sift together the dry ingredients. Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Mix these two components together and chill for at least 1 hour.

Roll out to 1/8" thick with a rolling pin.

Cut the dough with cookie cutters.

Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 min at 375 degrees F.

Cake Balls

1 cake mix (18 1/2 ounces), any flavor
12-ounce container cream cheese icing
6 ounces of flavored confectioners’ coating (available in discs or as a bar, in white, dark or milk chocolate or whatever flavor or color desired)

Prepare a 9-by-13-inch cake using the directions on the package. After cake cools, shred it in a big bowl with two forks, making it like fine bread crumbs. Add cream cheese frosting and mix until well blended. Even in a chocolate cake, the frosting disappears into the crumbs and makes them sticky. Use your hands to roll the mixture into balls and chill them (You can put them in the freezer to speed up the process).

While cake balls are chilling, melt coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Dip the balls in melted coating using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Decorate the balls with sprinkles or extra melted coating, which has been put in a bottle with a tip. Place on waxed paper to set.

Makes 36 servings.

Pizza for the Grill

Tony Rosenfeld's Basic Pizza for the Grill
The Washington Post, May 28, 2008

Summary:
Of course you can use a store-bought dough for these grilled pizzas, though making one yourself doesn’t involve much work; the kneading is almost meditative, if not thoroughly satisfying.
So if you have the time, give this dough a try. Although Tony Rosenfeld prefers working with wet doughs (which are quite sticky and yield a soft, tender texture), this one is a little tighter. He finds it is easy to work with and holds together nicely when transferred to and from the grill. The dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in heavy-duty resealable plastic food storage bag and frozen for up to 1 month; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

Makes four 10- to 12-inch pizza crusts

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees), plus more as needed
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 small packet) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 cups flour, plus more as needed and for the work surface
10 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bowl
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
Toppings (see related story)

Directions:

• Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl, stirring to mix well; let sit for 10 minutes to allow the top to foam and become frothy (indicating that the yeast is active). If it does not do that, discard and start again with more water, yeast and sugar.
• 
  Lightly flour a work surface; lightly grease a mixing bowl and a rimmed baking sheet with a little olive oil.
• 
  Combine the flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of the oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Beat on low speed for 1 minute until well incorporated, then add the water-yeast mixture in a slow, steady stream. Beat for about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until a dough forms and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Add a few tablespoons of water or flour if the dough is too dry or wet. Transfer the dough to the prepared work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, adding a little flour if it starts to stick, so the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
• 
  Transfer to the oiled bowl, cover with a clean, dry dish towel and let sit for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, until the mixture almost doubles in size. Form the dough into 4 equal-size balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. (Alternatively, the dough may be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
• 
  To roll out the dough balls, lightly flour a work surface. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and have ready additional large sheets of the paper for stacking the rounds of dough.
  
• Shape or roll one of the balls into a thin round between 10 and 12 inches in diameter. Brush the top side with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and flip the oiled side over onto the lined baking sheet. Brush the new top side of the dough with 1 tablespoon of the oil and cover with a piece of parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining 3 doughs and the oil. They may be held at room temperature for about 1 hour in this manner (or refrigerate, tightly covered, for up to 3 hours. If the dough has been refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, so it will be easier to stretch).
  
• When ready to grill, build a two-zone fire. Heat the back 2 burners on a gas grill on HIGH and the front burners on LOW, or light a large charcoal fire and push most of the coals to one side of the grill, leaving a sparse layer of coals on the other side. When it has reached the right temperature, the hot zone of the fire should be so hot that you can hold your hand a couple of inches above the grill for only about 3 seconds (about 500 degrees, if using a surface thermometer). Clean the grill grates well and oil them lightly with a wad of paper towels.
• 
  Using both hands to hold the top of one of the dough rounds (as if your hands were at 10 and 2 on a steering wheel), gently lay the bottom part of the hanging dough on the far side of the hot zone and stretch the top toward you to the other side. Cook, without touching, for 1 minute, so the dough bubbles and starts to get good grill marks. Rotate 90 degrees and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, or until the dough is uniformly browned and crisp but has not burned.
• 
  Pull the dough to the cooler zone of the charcoal fire or to the front of the gas grill and reduce the heat on the middle zone of the gas grill to medium-low. Flip the dough over so the seared side faces up. Sprinkle toppings evenly over the pizza (remember, less is more; see related sidebar for topping suggestions).
• 
  Once the toppings are in place, cover the grill (with the vents open on a charcoal grill lid). Cook for 3 to 7 minutes, checking every minute or so to rotate the pie 90 degrees so it cooks evenly, until any cheese toppings melt. Transfer to a large cutting board to slice. Top and grill the remaining doughs in the same manner. Serve hot.

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• 
  CHEESES: thinly sliced fresh mozzarella; grated fontina, mozzarella, smoked Gouda or cheddar cheese; crumbled feta, blue cheese or goat cheese; shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino Romano.
  
• · VEGETABLES: thin strips of raw red bell pepper, red onion or scallions; thinly sliced grilled portobello mushrooms, red pepper, red onion or asparagus; caramelized onions or roasted garlic cloves; baby spinach or arugula dressed with olive oil; diced ripe tomato, halved grape tomatoes or diced canned tomato.
  
• · FRESH HERBS: chopped rosemary, thyme or oregano; torn basil leaves.
  ·
• PANTRY INGREDIENTS: Homemade or jarred pesto, jarred roasted red pepper, canned artichoke hearts, pitted kalamata olives, jarred sliced jalapeños or hot cherry peppers; cooked, crumbled sausage, crisped bacon or pancetta; very thinly sliced prosciutto, smoked ham or diced grilled chicken breast.
  ·
• Margherita: Toss diced ripe tomato (or drained diced canned tomato) with olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped rosemary and torn basil leaves. Top the pizza with the tomato, thinly sliced fresh mozzarella and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
  
• · Asparagus, Fontina and Prosciutto: Dress asparagus spears with olive oil, salt and pepper, grill until tender, then cut into 1-inch pieces. Top the pizza with the asparagus, thinly sliced red onion, shredded fontina and thinly sliced prosciutto.
  ·
• Grilled Red Onion, Sausage and Goat Cheese: Slice a red onion into 1/4 -inch rings, skewer with small metal skewers, drizzle with olive oil and grill for about 15 minutes over a medium fire, flipping every couple of minutes, until browned (but not burned) and mostly tender. Top the pizza with crumbled, cooked sausage, goat cheese, the grilled red onion and chopped rosemary.
  ·
• Artichokes and Black Olives: Top the pizza with sliced and cooked (or canned) artichoke hearts, halved pitted kalamata olives, diced fresh tomato, chopped thyme, grated mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano. · Grilled Chicken and Pesto: Spread homemade or jarred pesto on the pizza; top with crushed red pepper flakes, thinly sliced roasted red pepper, grilled chicken and fresh mozzarella.

Banana Bars

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
For the Banana Bars:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
For the Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 3/4 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar

RECIPE METHOD
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in bananas.
Spread into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool.
For frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in enough confectioners' sugar to achieve desired consistency. Frost bars. Store in the refrigerator.