With everyone cooped up at home. Sales for flour and yeast are at an all time high. Robin Hood Flour can’t keep up with the demand and has had to settle with putting their flour in generic white bags, restaurants and commercial bakeries are trying to help with the demand by selling off their stock. It’s been a really interesting ordeal to watch!
Baking and cooking is a great way to keep your hands busy while the world goes through this roller coaster. I’ve never seen shelves at a grocery store this bare before even after working in the industry for almost a decade. My heart goes out to all the current grocery store workers out there, you are making a huge impact on our sanity and even more importantly our survival by risking your lives everyday to go to work. Thank you.
I’ve decided to release some of my favorite recipes during this time. Some of them I’ve shared with you before. Others I kept to myself to give my business a delicious edge in the industry ;). Now that my little one woman bake shop is closed until further notice I see no harm in sharing some of them.
This recipe is literally from my junior high “family studies” class. I’ve tested multiple recipes since but this one always seems to be the best. The only down side of this recipe is that it doesn’t last. Within 24 hours the pretzels are stale so I recommend only making enough for immediate consumption.
Some bakes soft pretzels along with a batch of hamburger buns (that recipe still needs more work)
Soft Pretzels: Yields 8 pretzels.
1/2 tbsp fast acting yeast (you can also use dry active yeast- you’ll need 3/4 of a tbsp (or 25% more) of the dry active yeast)
1/2 t tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup of flour
150 ml of warm water
1 cup of flour to be added at the end.
Dissolve the yeast into the warm water, dry active yeast will take a minute or two to react, fast acting yeast will be ready immediately.
Mix the 1/2 cup of flour, sugar, and salt together, add the water and yeast mixture.
Add the other 1 cup of flour gradually
Knead dough for 1 minute
Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape as desired.
Brush with an egg wash (egg and a little water) and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Bake time can vary depending on how large you made your pretzels.
