Friday, June 4, 2010

Pretzel buns revisited....

Yummy note: So I just LOVE making homemade pretzel rolls, they are just one of the tastiest treats you can eat. I think my daughter LOVES them even more. But what I hate, is the time involved. Really if you have the time, this recipe I posted a few months ago http://itsyummytomytummy.blogspot.com/2010/03/pretzel-buns.html is the bomb. However, the kicker of this particular recipe was how long it takes to prep the dough and the waiting in getting it ready for its bubble bath. So I started a search for ways to cut down on my time and came up with this nice shortcut - frozen bread dough! I used the frozen bread loaves and it worked perfect. It really cuts down the "hands on" time needed for this recipe. You just sit the frozen bread dough on the counter or in your refrigerator, and forget about it for awhile. Come back and you are ready to shape and Just let me say, frozen bread dough rocks!! Hope you enjoy this shortcut!

Pretzel buns revisited...



Ingredients:
1 loaf of frozen bread dough
kosher salt or pretzel salt
2 quarts cold water
1/2 cup baking soda

Directions:
Wrap a loaf of frozen bread dough in lightly oiled plastic wrap. Allow dough to thaw; thaw dough according to package directions, they may vary. After dough has thawed, you can do one of two things. 1) cut the dough into pieces and roll/form desired pretzel shapes and let it rise for about 30 minutes OR 2) let the dough rise a little bit (about 30 minutes or so) and then cut the dough into pieces and roll/form desired pretzel shapes. I've done both. Once on purpose, and the other I've accidentally let the dough rise quite a bit once and then cut and rolled the dough into shapes. Either worked fine. The only difference I saw was in version 2) the pretzels didn't get as high, but that's ok, as you get almost a harder pretzel that way.


ooops... I think I let it thaw out and rise too much. lol. It was pretty huge, when I tried taking the plastic wrap off, the dough instantly fell. But you know what, it still worked fine, I just got a little bit smaller and harder style of pretzels. The pretzels still tasted great.



Next, preheat the oven to 425°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly coat with a cooking spray. In a large stockpot, bring the cold water to a rolling boil and add 1/2 cup baking soda to create a nice bubbly bath for your dough. Drop in a few rolls/pretzels shapes at a time into the boiling water and boil for no more then 30 seconds, turning once. Carefully remove with tongs or slotted spoon and let it excess water drain back into the pot. Sprinkle lightly with salt, and score a design onto the top of the rolls if desired. Repeat with the remaining rolls. Arrange rolls on the oiled baking sheets and bake on the upper and middle racks of the oven for about 15 minutes to achieve a nice brown color. Your oven may vary, so start checking the rolls after about 8-9 minutes to get the color/doneness you want. I shifted and turned the pans about halfway through, for even baking. Let the rolls cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack and enjoy!

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