homemade: soft pretzels and mustard

(adapted pretzel recipe, salted and parmesan/pecorino cheese)

smitten kitchen's posts always inspire me to try out something i haven't done before (or in this case to tackle something i did previously). so her post on homemade soft pretzels prompted me to revisit my attempts with working with the yeasted dough. i tried making some type of bread many years ago and failed miserably. perhaps it was my youth and impatience that aided to the failing, but since then i've had plenty of years to get over it and figured working at a smaller scale (pretzels) might be a good way to re-introduce myself to an area of baking i've long avoided. 

i decided to go with the recipe smitten provided in her post and noticed that she mentioned a mustard i recall having this past summer during a wine tasting trip out in long island. myself and friends included very much enjoyed this mustard which was slightly sweet accented by a nice tang. since i could not run out and purchase herlocher's mustard, i looked online to see if i could find a recipe comparable to it and luck should have it - i did! 

(pretzels from smitten's recipe with homemade mustard sauce)

with recipe in hand, i set off to make them at my nephew's 7th birthday party. overall the pretzels came out quite nice and were gobbled up quite quickly by everyone. however, i felt the texture of the pretzels to be a bit tougher than i wanted and that could have been my own mixing and rolling out of the dough. regardless of the result, i was not disappointed nor discouraged and decided i would investigate a bit more on the pretzel recipe.  

i, of course, went back to my handy baking illustrated book. their recipe was quick and easy and encouraged using the dough hook attachment. everything was thrown into the bowl at once, mixed together and given a few hours to rise. i took a few tips from smitten and the baking book to adapt another recipe. this time around, the pretzels came out nice, chewy and with a nice crisp on the outside. since i ran out of coarse salt, i ended up using some really nice finishing salt instead. luckily it wasn't too salty even though the first picture posted appears to be salt-ladened. i am very happy with this adapted recipe! now if i can only get the shaping of the pretzel down properly....

as for the mustard recipe, it was quite a surprise at how tasty it was. i got a few "looks" and raised eyebrows as everyone looked over my shoulder asking what exactly it was that i was making. the recipe did require some tweaking, since i preferred something slightly spicy and with more of a mustardy kick, i added another tablespoon of dry mustard and included a little cayenne pepper into the mix (this of course can be omitted if you prefer a non-spicy version). with the adjustments, the batch came out great and is absolutely a lovely compliment the warm soft pretzels!

homemade mustard recipe 

(similar to herlocher's dipping mustard)

yield: 1 3/4 c.

1/2 c white vinegar

1/2 c white sugar

2 tb flour

1/2 c light cream

3 tb dry mustard

1 egg

1/2 ts cayenne powder (optional)

1/4-1/2 ts turmeric (for color optional)

• in a double broiler on a stovetop, combine all ingredients (except turmeric) and mix with a whisk.
• bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and lower medium heat. continue to cook the mixture until it thickens, this might take from 8-15 minutes.
• once the mixture reaches the proper consistency, remove from heat and add the turmeric starting with a little bit and adding more until you've reached the desired color.
• serve immediately with pretzels or store in glass jar and refrigerate for future use (this should keep for a good 2-3 weeks).
• 
  

homemade soft pretzels

yield: 1 dozen medium-sized

in a bowl, combine:

1 ts yeast

3 tb honey

1 ts salt

3 c. all purpose flour

1 c. warm water (about 115 degrees)

• using a mixer with the dough hook attachment, knead the mixture at a low speed until it forms a dough and it begins to stick to the sides of the bowl (approx. 3-5 minutes). the dough will be stiff. 
  

you will also need:

2 ts of neutral oil (i.e. canola, sunflower)

6 c. water

3 tb baking soda

1 tb sugar

toppings: i.e. coarse/pretzel salt, sesame/poppy seeds, grated cheese

• in another bowl, coat with oil. place dough in bowl and coat all sides of dough with the oil. cover bowl w/ plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise & double in size (1-1.5 hours). punch dough down and cover bowl w/ plastic wrap - let it sit again for another 30-40 mins.
• preheat oven at 450 degrees and place the rack in middle of oven.
• roll out pieces of dough 20 inches long and shape into pretzels, place onto baking sheet.

• in a shallow pan that's wide enough to fit 3-4 pretzels at a time, bring to boil water and add sugar and baking soda (this might fizz up a bit so be careful!) and lower to a simmer. throw 3 or 4 pretzels at a time in the bath and blanch for 30 seconds on each side. take them out and drain.
• place pretzels onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. sprinkle each pretzel with the topping of your choice.
• bake in the oven for 12-15 mins or until nicely browned. 
• serve it up with whatever you fancy but eat right away!