Sourdough Pretzels

[lunchman]

Yes, I am at it again. :shocked: More things to make with Sourdough Starter.

This time it's Sourdough Pretzels. Again, from the King Arthur Flour website (almost) but since their recipe called for Baker's Special Dry Milk (non-fat milk) and Malt Powder I had to figure out some substitutions since neither of those is in my pantry.

Fortunately, someone beat me to it (scotchandscones.com), recommending 3/4 Cup (170g) of Scalded Milk. For the Malt Powder the substitution was 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar or Granulated Sugar (I went with Brown).

The dough was easy to work with in the KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the Dough Hook, coming clean off the sides of the bowl and the hook. Here it is after 5-7 minutes of kneading -



Let it rise for about 45 minutes, then turn it out onto my baking mat -



After a few minutes of kneading by hand it's looking fairly smooth -



Divide into 12 equal pieces, then roll into 18" ropes -



Then twist into pretzels. Fortunately, Mrs. lunchman is a lot better at this than I am -



Then into a hot water bath with Baking Soda for 20-30 seconds per side -



Let 'em drain and hit them with Sea Salt -



Or Brown Sugar and Cinnamon -



Then into the oven. KAF site says 350F, Scotch Scones says 400F so I baked mine at 375F. Time was between KAF (25-30 min) and SS (12-15 min), they were a nice golden brown around 20 minutes -



Drizzle some Melted Butter over them, then back in the oven for another minute.

I present to you a plate of Sourdough Pretzels -





Time to dig in (bottoms are looking good as well) -







Perfection! If you haven't decided what to make with your Sourdough discard, give these a try. Your taste buds will thank you.

I've made pretzels before and the results were so-so. These were outstanding. It's a good thing the recipe makes 12!

Thanks for checking in on the continuing saga of "What to do with Sourdough Starter". :laugh:

Regards,
-lunchman

I should mention I did actually make Easter dinner today out on the Golden's, just didn't take any pics. And it had nothing to do with Sourdough.

 

[Stingerhook]

"Auntie Annie's" has nothing on you Dom.

 

[ssv3]

Oh yes please Dom. Love it!

 

[zippy12]

Made these with my daughter ... she still talks about it

 

[sudsandswine]

*sudsandswine glances at the starter sitting on his counter he hasn’t fed in like 5 days*

Love seeing all your uses for “discarded” starter.

 

[Titch]

Must try this seeing as My wife is now making popovers,
Never eaten a real pretzel before.

 

[ModelMaker]

Gotta love a man who likes to play with his food.
Good.
Ed

 

[Retired RailRoader]

Great looking pretzels, my mouths watering! Quick question, you substituted Bakers Special Dry Milk with scalded milk (Fortunately, someone beat me to it (scotchandscones.com), recommending 3/4 Cup (170g) of Scalded Milk. For the Malt Powder the substitution was 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar or Granulated Sugar (I went with Brown).) By using the scalded milk did you eliminate the water entirely since the original amount of water 170 grams was replace with the same amount of scalded milk?

 

[lunchman]

Great looking pretzels, my mouths watering! Quick question, you substituted Bakers Special Dry Milk with scalded milk (Fortunately, someone beat me to it (scotchandscones.com), recommending 3/4 Cup (170g) of Scalded Milk. For the Malt Powder the substitution was 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar or Granulated Sugar (I went with Brown).) By using the scalded milk did you eliminate the water entirely since the original amount of water 170 grams was replace with the same amount of scalded milk?

Yes, sorry. I should have made that clearer in my post. The water is eliminated entirely, replaced with the scalded milk. For me, scalded milk simply meant warmed milk which I heated to just under 110F so it wouldn't kill my yeast. Since I don't have instant yeast I always use dry active. Not much difference between them other than the activation in warm liquid.