Papa Drexlers Bavarian Soft Pretzels Recipes

PAPA DREXLER'S BAVARIAN SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl;, stir together 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, 2 Tablespoons of butter, and 1 1/3 cup water. Let this mixture stand until bubble begin to form, about 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and gradually stir in the remaining flour until dough can be picked up and kneaded on the counter. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and let them rest for a few minutes. Roll out one piece at a time into a rope about 15 inches long. Loop and twist into that cool pretzel shape. Set on a baking sheet while you roll out the remaining portions. Preheat the oven to 450^. Bring the remaining 3 cups of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Remove from the heat. Dip pretzels into the water bath for about 45 seconds, flipping over about halfway through. Place the soaked pretzels on a greased baking sheet. Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake in the oven until golden brown , about 8-10 minutes. Note: After rolling out into rope, you can cut the into 2 to 3 inch pieces, pinching ends to seal and proceed the same. --- Mustard Dipping Sauce: 2 T. bacon bits 1/2 c. yellow mustard 1/2 c. honey 1/4 c. corn syrup 1/4 c. mayonnaise 1 T. dried onion flakes Place ingredients in microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds and stir until well blended- heat 30 seconds more if necessary, stirring again. Store in refridgerator until ready to use or any leftovers.

BAVARIAN PRETZELS

Steps:

• Mix brown sugar and warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over top and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Add melted butter and beer to the yeast mixture and whisk until combined. Add bread flour and salt. Mix and then knead with your hands or an electric mixer for a few minutes until a dough ball forms.
• Grease a bowl with 1 teaspoon butter. Place dough in the bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 8 hours, or overnight.
• Punch down the dough and knead until a smooth ball of dough is formed, about 1 minute. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise until dough has almost doubled in size, 2 to 3 more hours.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place baking soda in an oven-safe dish.
• Place baking soda in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Let cool, and then whisk into a shallow bowl of 2 1/2 cups hot water until dissolved. Mixture can be strained to remove any dissolved pieces. Reserve until needed.
• Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each one into a ball; let sit for 5 minutes.
• To form a pretzel, roll a dough ball into a sausage shape, and then press into a small rectangle with your fingers. Fold the outside third of the dough into the center, and press flat with your fingertips, and then repeat with the edge closest to you.
• Roll the dough into a rope 15 to 18 inches long, with the center (belly) of the rope being twice as thick as the ends. Cross the ends once or twice and fold them back over the pretzel so the ends are just past the belly. Repeat to form remaining pretzels.
• Put on some thin, food-safe gloves and transfer a pretzel to the baking soda bath; soak for 20 to 30 seconds, gently splashing liquid over the top of the pretzel to coat. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet that's been greased with cooking spray. Sprinkle the still-damp pretzel with large-grain sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels and let rise for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
• Use a razor or sharp knife to make a slash across the "belly" of each pretzel. Smaller cuts can also be made on other sides of the pretzel if desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven until well browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

PAPADZULES

Steps:

• Have ready a warmed, not hot, serving dish or warmed individual dishes.
• Put the water, epazote, and salt into a small pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Spread the pumpkin seeds in a thin layer over the bottom of a large skillet and heat through gently over low heat, turning them over from time to time. The seeds will swell, but take care not to let them become even slightly golden or the sauce will lose its fresh green color. You might want to keep a lid handy because often some of the seeds will start jumping out of the pan. Spread the seeds onto a metal tray to cool completely before grinding to avoid the blades seizing up with the volatile oil.
• Using an electric coffee/spice grinder, grind a portion of the seeds at a time to a slightly textured consistency, 5 to 6 seconds. If the seeds are ground too fine, then it will be more difficult to extract the oil.
• Have a small glass bowl ready for the oil.
• Put the ground seeds onto a plate that has a slight ridge around the rim. Measure out 1/4 cup (63ml) of the epazote broth and little by little sprinkle it - don't, for goodness' sake, pour the whole lot - over the seeds and work it with your hands, first having put the telephone on automatic answering. Gradually add the liquid until you have a crumbly but cohesive paste.
• Tilt the plate a little to one side and put a folded cloth underneath to hold it in that position. Start squeezing the paste and you will see that drops of oil will begin to extrude. Add a little more warm liquid if necessary - you probably won't need the whole amount - and keep squeezing until you have collected almost 4 tablespoons of dark green oil. (This is pure vitamin E, and great for the hands.) Crumble the paste into a blender jar, add the remaining strained epazote broth, if desired, and blend until smooth.
• Transfer the sauce to a skillet and warm through over the lowest possible heat, stirring almost constantly because the starch content of the seeds begins to swell and the particles tend to coagulate in the bottom of the pan.
• Dip one of the warm tortillas into the sauce: it should be lightly covered. If the sauce is too thick, dilute it with a little extra warm water. Work as quickly as you can, dipping each tortilla into the sauce, holding it with tongs but supporting it with a spatula so you don't get left with a bit of broken tortilla in your tongs. Sprinkle some of the chopped egg across one-third of the tortilla, roll it up, and place it on the warmed dish.
• When all the papadzules are assembled, pour the remaining sauce over them. (If the sauce has thickened and become grainy looking, put it back into the blender with a little extra warm water and blend until smooth.) Now pour on the tomato sauce and sprinkle the chopped egg whites and yolks. Decorate with the optional epazote. As a final touch, spoon in little pools of the oil. Serve immediately or the oil will sink back into the sauce and all that work will have been for naught! Of course, it is more colorful and attractive to serve the papadzules together on one serving dish.

BAVARIAN-STYLE SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl (or bowl of a mixer), stir together syrup, lard or butter, yeast, 2 cups warm water and half the flour. Add kosher salt and remaining flour and stir just until mixture comes together in a shaggy mass.
• Turn out onto counter (or attach dough hook to mixer) and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and supple. Cut into 12 pieces and let rest 5 minutes.
• Roll out each piece into a rope about 22 inches long. (For traditional shape, the ends should be thin and the center fat.) Lift both ends, twist them around each other once, then bring ends back and press them on either side of fat "belly," at about 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock. Then gently spread out "shoulders" of pretzel. Transfer shaped pretzels to an ungreased baking sheet. (Alternatively, form each piece into a round or oval to make laugenbrötchen, rolls.)
• Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a deep bowl, wearing rubber or latex gloves, make a solution of 1/2 cup lye and 10 cups water (or 1 part lye to 20 parts water); pour lye carefully into water to avoid splashing. Dip each pretzel in solution, turning it over for 10 to 15 seconds, and place back on baking sheet.
• Sprinkle pretzels with salt. Bake about 15 minutes or until deep brown. Remove to a rack and serve warm.