Wednesday, February 23, 2011

dough boys.

Who wouldn't want to cook with two dough boys? It sure does keep the kitchen interesting! I love catching up on life while we cook and bake together. And, it's so much fun to see how their kitchen skills are improving.
Their wives had better thank me someday!!
One of our family favorites is homemade pretzels, not only because they taste sooooo good, but they are so fun to make.
What other bread requires kneading, cutting with a pizza roller, boiling in a hot water bath, twisting and folding, a generous salt sprinkle, and a dab of mustard for eating?
Cooking with your kids is so worth the small extra mess. Really.
Oh, here it comes. The dough boys favorite part. Pounding!
And, after rising... my favorite part is twisting. It's so easy-- here, I'll show you. First, cut out 1 inch by 12 inch sections of your dough.
Grab a piece...

Twist once, twist twice, and fold down. Poke your little fingers into the ends so they don't come apart. See?? Isn't that easy?
After they are twisted, you briefly bake them to firm them up a bit and then you boil them in salted water for 2 minutes.

Salt them, and bake them a second time.
Ohhhh, your house will smell so good!
Do you want to make your own? Here's how:
The Dough Boy Special Pretzels
4 C flour
1 package yeast
1 1/2 C milk
1/4 C sugar
2 T cooking oil
1 t salt
-
2 T salt
egg white (for a wash)
In a mixing bowl (or mixer) stir together the flour and yeast.
In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, oil and salt just until warm.
Slowly add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and mix well.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead to make a stiff but elastic dough. Oil the dough and let rise for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Punch the dough down, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick.
Cut into strips. Shape into pretzels. Put pretzels on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 475 for 4 minutes.
Dissolve 2 T of salt into a pot of boiling water. Boil the pretzels 2 or 3 at a time for 2 minutes apiece. 1 minute per side. Place on a paper towel to drain. Put the pretzels back on the greased baking sheet.
Brush pretzels with the egg white, sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
Enjoy!

11 comments:

G. said...

I, too love cooking/baking with my kiddos. Those pretzels look like fun to make and eat. :)

Trish said...

I'm secretly planning for my girls to marry boys like your boys. Shh. Don't tell them. And, oh. They'll thank you. ;)

***LIZ*** said...

So fun! I want to do this with my boys. I don't buy the packets of yeast though, do you know the measure of yeast in a packet? I am so glad you are blogging again. You are so talented, I love how you make everything look amazing. I think you need your own tv show.

Simply Me... said...

Emily is it you ? sure have missed you ! so glad you stopped by :)

Clarkmomma said...

those look yummy-we may have to give them a try.
And Liz, I just measured a packet yesterday-there's 2 1/4 tsp in each one (I don't usually use them either but had some on hand for some reason).

Rebecca said...

These look so yummy! Can't wait to make them with my two boys.

***LIZ*** said...

Thank you Clarkmomma!

Jessica said...

I'm planning to try these for Friday night treats tonight! Thanks for posting the recipe.

Eve said...

OMG - my mouth is watering - those look amazing!
Ok, now when you figure out a gluten free version, please send it my way! ;)

Emily said...

Thanks girls, they are easy and worth the multi step process!!

Liz, http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/yeastbreadtip.htm

Amber said...

Yum...I will have to try these! Wish I could grab one of your already done ones :)