As part of the Velveeters group, I made pretzels for the first time this month. I was thrilled to try out a whole wheat recipe, especially since I recently picked up some vital wheat gluten. This makes whole wheat bread dough more fluffy--and this dough recipe was so fluffy it overspilled the bowl while it was rising. The result is a soft, chewy pretzel that's also amazingly 100% whole wheat.
I used a recipe from Baking Bites, which I adapted only by adding black sesame seeds. The recipe is extremely simple, with the exception of shaping the dough. Some of my first attempts were truly ugly--my hot, humid kitchen was making shaping a challenge. The first few (below) are bloated buns rather than defined shapes.
The pretzels are made chewy by brushing them with a baking powder glaze before baking. The soft, puffy insides were perfect for dipping in our mushroom soup.
The 4 Velveteers was started by Alessio, Aparna, Asha, and Pam, who are passionate about different cuisines and food in general. Each month, we will attempt a new dish and share our experiences and the recipes we used. If you're interested in joining the Velveteers, please feel free to drop by our Facebook group.
Visit the other Velveteers' blogs to see what they have come up with this month:
--Asha's raisin pretzel buns at Fork Spoon Knife
--Aparna's German pretzels at My Diverse Kitchen
--Veena's soft pretzels with chocolate
--Alessio's bierbrezeln
(And check back soon, because I'll update this list as more group members post their pretzels.)
