Bread, Rolls and other gravings.....

Among the things we are missing, I believe bread and rolls rank among the highest on the list.  When I think of Europe, I can almost sense the smell of fresh rolls for breakfast, the taste of fresh bread with butter. American bread is different, very different. So, despite the fact that  I have been able to find french style baguette in Grand Central Market and though I still love bagels, bread is what I am graving most.

So I have set out to try a couple of recipes and turned my kitchen into a bakery. Over the next blogs I will be sharing the recipes and results.

Here we go: Pretzel Rolls

Pretzel Rolls require three simple steps . First you make the bun, then you give it a bath and then you bake it. Easy but a bit time consuming and well worth the effort.

For the dough you will need:
6-7 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups milk, slightly warmed
1 cup water, slightly warmed
3 tablespoons of canola oil

Corse sea salt for sprinkling

For the bath you will need:
7 cups of water
1 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoons baking Soda

Step 1: the dough
In a small Container, mix yeast with warmed milk and let rest for about 10 minutes. Whisk 5 1/2 cups of flour and teaspoon of salt in large bowl.

Add canola oil and warmed water to yeast mixture. Pour into bowl with flour and salt. Knead in the bowl until dough is mostly smooth. Add more flour until the dough is very stiff. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and put in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour (note: I did the kneading in my kitchen aid and let it sit in the bowl but the dough rose above the whole Maschine, so I recommend doing it by hand or at least taking it out of the maschine).

Punch down dough and knead in bowl for about one cut into small pieces for your rolls. Mine were about 20 but still big enough. Form balls by pulling the dough under. Place on a well-greased surface. Let rise for 15 minutes.

Step 2: the bath
While the rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and get the pretzel bath ready. In a large pot, bring water, salt and baking soda to a rolling boil. Plunge three dough balls into the water and let them "poach" for 1 Minute total. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a well-greased baking sheet. With a serrated knife, cut 2-3 lines across each roll and sprinkle with the coarse sea salt.

Step 3: bake
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until pretzel rolls are a rich brown.


BROT, BRÖTCHEN und andere GELÜSTE

Ich glaube, Brot und Brötchen gehören zu den Dingen, die wir am meisten vermissen. Wenn ich an Europa denke, kann ich den Duft von frisch gebackenen Brötchen riechen, fast das Butterbrot schmecken. Amerikanisches Brot ist anders, ganz anders. Und obwohl ich im Grand Central Market ziemlich gutes französisches Baguette kaufen kann, und ich Bagels immer noch sehr mag, fehlt mir richtiges Brot schon sehr.

Also habe ich beschlossen, einige Rezepte auszuprobieren und meine Küche in eine Backstube zu verwandeln. In den nächsten Blogs findet ihr nun einige der gelungenen Backwaren. (Ich werde die Rezepte nur in Englisch aufschreiben, wer eine deutsche Kopie will, kann mir eine Email schreiben oder einen Kommentar hinterlassen).

Nur einige Übersetzungshilfen:

Baking Powder - Backpulver
Baking Soda - Natron
Yeast - Hefe