Friends Don't Let Friends: Build Bad Bagels

 These bagels are much beloved in our house. And, while I love a good Everything Bagel and always want to control the topping ratio (MORE!), I tend to not get in there and make them that often. 

It's not like they are difficult. I just am an immediate gratification kind of person and these do take time to rise and a few steps. But when I DO make them, they are great! The recipe is one from Family Fun magazine circa 2004. You never know were a great recipe might pop up.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Warm Water
1pkt active dry yeast
4 Tbl Sugar
2 1/2 tsp Salt
3 1/2 - 3 3/4 C Flour

Prepare the Dough
Pour 1/4 C water into small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it and stir to dissolve. Let it sit for 5 min.

Combine remaining 1 1/4 C water, the yeast/water, 3Tbl of sugar and then salt. Add 2C flour and stir by hand until well mixed (about 100 strokes)

Stir in remaining flour, about 1/4C at a time to make a dough that's firm enough to knead.

Turn out onto a floured surface and need about 10 min using as much flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Dough should be firm, supple and hold the imprint of your hand.

Transfer to an oiled bowl and coat the surface of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and lit sit until doubled, about an hour.

When ready, punch the dough down, turn out onto a floured surface and knead 1 min. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Shape into balls, dust with flour and let rest 2 - 3 min.

Flatten and then make a center hole in each piece. Let sit covered about 10 min.

While dough is resting fill a larger stockpot with water and 1 Tbl sugar and bring to a boil. Heat over to 400 degrees.

After the bagels have rested for 10 min, drop in water 2 at a time and boil 30 seconds on each side. Then remove to a clean towel. After a minute transfer to a baking sheet with parchment. When all bagels are done with the boil, you can brush with oil and add toppings or bake.

Bake 22-25 min until golden.

Friends Don't Let Friends: Buy Bad Butter

I have to admit that I had two big food "fears" before we went vegan, now nearly 7 years ago.

And that fear was all around toast.

As my family can attest, I frigging love toast.  And not just toast, really anything warm and bread-y that likes to be slathered in butter and jam... or cinnamon sugar, or agave syrup, or salt, or... well, you get my point.  We're talking all kinds of toasted bread, bagels, crumpets, english muffins, scones.  Hell, I liked eating untoasted bread with butter and sugar and I've been known to scrape out of the butter container with a bunch of wheat thins.

I am not proud of this but there you go.

So, yes, toast (and baking of course) was heavily on my mind.  And thank goodness for EarthBalance in all of its varieties.  It's great.  It tastes great, melts perfectly and works amazingly in all of my baked goods.

But then there was the palm oil issue and we've been ever increasingly concerned about buying into that.  Plus, it's always good to have another option.

That's why I'm soooo happy to have bought our new favorite cookbook - The Homemade Vegan Pantry by Miyoko Schinner (of the awesome Miyoko's Kitchen and her famous cheeses - go buy some now!)

I've started working my way through her book because everything looks wonderful and easy to make.  Most use basic available ingredients (although for the butter I did order the liquid lecithin from Amazon.  You don't use a lot so one bottle or two will make a ton of this recipe).

Making this butter - the Glorious Butterless Butter - literally took me 5 minutes, a measuring cup and the blender. I added the soy milk, coconut oil, canola oil, salt and lecithin to the blender, blended it up and then poured it into a silicone mold we had.  A few hours later, it was ready to go!

 I was dying to dig into this but held off until breakfast the next day.  After chilling this was a perfect, crumbly butter. Not too salty with a delicious taste cold or melted, which it did perfectly.

I cannot recommend it enough.

Although you should just go out and buy this book asap (I know it's going to be a new staple, reached for constantly), here is the butter recipe:

Glorious Butterless Butter by Miyoko Schinner

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C melted refined coconut oil
1/2 C non-dairy milk (I used soy for the neutral taste and fat content)
1/4 C canola, grapeseed or light olive oil (I used a fancy canola)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp liquid lecithin

Measure this all out, add it to the blender and process at medium speed for about a minute. Pour into any container (silicone is best I think, for popping it out easily) and then chill in the fridge until hard.

It will keep 3 - 4 weeks or several months in the freezer.

She also has variations for a cultured butter version, really hard butter for making stuff like puff pastry or croissants, whipped butter or unsalted butter.

It really is too pretty, right? Gah! I'm in love with it.

We also made one of her other condiments - homemade ketchup.  I did a hickory smoke-maple version but you are going to have to buy to book to get that recipe for yourself!

A Cooking Course with Chef Jason - Plant Restaurant Asheville: Risotto and Wild Foods

One of our favorite restaurants in the country (if not our top pick thus far world-wide) is Plant in Asheville.  I am not kidding when I say the Chef Jason Sellers is a culinary master.  His cooking is pure witchcraft and he has to be one of the most innovative chefs around.

We are so lucky to be within driving distance of his genius and we have often made the 2+ hour drive each way to just have dinner at Plant.  We recommend this restaurant to anyone coming anywhere near the Asheville vicinity.  It's so good that the first time we ate dinner there, we called at 10am the next morning to see how soon we could get in again.  Not kidding.

So when we read that Plant was going to be doing intimate (5 or so people) cooking classes on Saturdays we quickly jumped online to schedule our sessions.

And Jason did not disappoint.

The class was for Risotto and Wild Foods.  I love cooking risotto and have posted here a few times about making risotto at home. But I loved the idea of learning from Jason, seeing behind the scenes, asking questions in a small setting and, of course, the lure of what wild foods would be featured was pretty great as well.

Asheville has a lot of wild foods from mushrooms to greens to herbs - the best foodie culture in the South, I think - so it could have been anything!

The restaurant is small which makes it perfect to learn and host a group of this size. Jason cooked and spoke right in front of us and made sure we saw every step of the way. His interaction with the 6 of us was continuous and everyone was interested and engaged.

I was happy to find out that my techniques and philosophies about cooking were something that Jason shared.  Pretty validating for an untrained but enthusiastic home "chef"!  Plus we share a love of salt varietals, so no one say you can ever have too much salt!

Jason showed us some restaurant tips and tricks, including how to pre-cook the risotto for finishing later, and created two separate dishes from the base recipe.

The first risotto was with a nettle pesto (recipe below) and then the addition of crimini and young chicken of the woods mushrooms, topped with sautéed wild watercress.

The second risotto received the addition of an oven-dried tomato confit and was then topped with an herb and black pepper crusted tofu, which was amazing.  It was seriously some of the best tofu ever.

These dishes were paired with two amazing wines and we left there inspired and eager to try out our new insights at home.   I can't speak for the other "students" but I love to make risotto and do a lot, but I usually keep it pretty simple.  I think risotto is an amazing dish on it's own.  But Jason really inspired us to do more with it, which is the mark of a chef that truly loves to cook.

Afterwards we headed over to the new location of French Broad Chocolate Lounge and capped off our day with a variety of chocolate delights - a slice of the Theros Olive Oil cake, gelato, vegan truffles and rose sipping chocolate.

It was a beautiful day in Asheville filled with amazing food!

Recipe for Risotto and Nettle Pesto
(serves 4 - 6)

Jason mentioned you can make risotto from a number of grains but worked with classic Arborio.  He mentioned a more hard to find rice, Vialone Nano, and now I'm eager to find and test that out.   He used their own, made in house stock as well.

Ingredients:
1/4 olive oil (make sure it's not a blend, he used extra virgin)
1 1/2lbs short grain white rice (e.g. Arborio)
2 1/2 oz white onion (1 small), chopped small
3/4 C of wine, room temperature (pinot grigio used)
6 - 8 C stock, kept hot
2 tsp salt, to taste  - sea salt or kosher preferred

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy bottom pot with a wide base and mouth. Add the rice and stir to coat each grain. Cook for 2 minutes.  Add the onion (and 1 grated clove of garlic if preferred) and cook for two minutes until the onions become somewhat translucent. Add the wine and cook until it is mostly absorbed. Begin adding the stock, one ladle (1/2C to 1C) at a time, until the rice is just covered by the liquid. Using a wooden spoon, stir the risotto until the liquid has dropped below the surface of the rice. Continue stirring and adding stock one ladle at a time until the risotto is thick, creamy/starchy, and chewy, and has lost any chalky crunch.

Add in pesto (or confit, etc.) and serve.

We learned you can, before all of the stock is added, take the risotto and cool it by putting it spread out on a baking sheet and then storing it overnight, covered in plastic wrap. You can then "finish" it by bringing it up to a heat again and adding in hot stock.  This will enable you to prep it somewhat in advance and then only need to cook it about 10 minutes, for a party or dinner, etc.

Nettle Pesto
(yield 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

2/3 C toasted hazelnuts, skins removed, finely chopped
1 C blanched nettles, dried (not dry), roughly chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
zest of one lemon
2 big pinches of salt
3 Tbl olive oil

Combine the hazelnuts, nettles, garlic, parsley, lemon zest and salt in a small mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and mix with a rubber spatula until uniform. Adjust lemon and salt to taste.

Tip: the lemon zest will help keep the pesto bright.  You can add lemon juice later before serving, to taste.

Friends Don't Let Friends: Not Have a Trifle or Make Them Miss Gluten

Today we went to a fabulous event put on by The Purple Pig Project, which raises money to give to animal rescue groups and sanctuaries.   It was hosted by a member of the group who always outdoes herself with hospitality and everyone brings amazing, all vegan, dishes to share.

I decided to get a bit crazy in the kitchen last night and we made a bunch of things to share with the group.

The first thing I made were my favorite Chocolate-Chip Walnut Brownies.  I did add in some extra dark cocoa to the cocoa mix and they turned out just as awesome as always.  (The recipe is via VegNews May/June 2009, Issue 67 and the link above.)

But of course I have to test some new recipes, so I made a gluten-free cornbread (trying to work gluten-free recipes into the repertoire) and a Strawberry-blueberry Vanilla  English Trifle.

Yep, they turned out pretty awesome.

The cornbread recipe is from Babycakes' first cookbook and is a bit sweet with a soft crumb.  It calls for being made in a loaf pan.  I haven't tried the more traditional square pan. 

Babycakes Gluten-free Cornbread

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup rice milk
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup corn flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil , plus more for the pan
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/3 cup homemade applesauce or store-bought unsweetened unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp. pure pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 7x4x3-inch loaf pan with oil. (Note: I did not oil the pan, I lined it with parchment instead.)

Pour the rice milk and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl, but do not stir; set aside to develop into "buttermilk." In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir the batter until well combined. Pour in the "buttermilk." Mix gently until the ingredients are fully incorporated and a slightly grainy batter is formed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the corn bread on the center rack for 32 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 20 minutes. The finished corn bread will bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the corn bread stand in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge of the bread. Cover the top of the pan with a cutting board, and invert the loaf onto the board. (This last step is not needed if you line your pan.  I just pull it out via the paper.)

The English Trifle takes a few more steps as there are several components to it.  There's the cake, the whipped cream, pastry cream, lemon curd and the macerated berries.  You could leave some of the cream/curd components out but I'd at least do the berries, whipped cream and lemon curd, leaving out the pastry cream if you wish.   But all 3 does give you a delicious result. These recipes are from several sources so I will link as possible.

Here are the steps I took - The night before I, I made the following because they all need to cool/chill:

1. Lemon curd

2. Pastry creme

3. Cake - Victoria Sponge

The morning of, I :

1. Macerate the strawberries (save some just chopped to add on top along with blueberries, raspberries, etc., as you wish)

2. Make the whipped cream

3. Assemble

Lemon Curd

I love lemon curd and have made it a few ways.  The version I used here came from Bryanna Clark Grogan via her site - Vegan Feast Kitchen.

Some notes I would make about how I made this is, first I steamed the parsnips after cubing them.  This freed me up to do other work.  I would have let them drain a bit more than I did.  I also, if I'd had the time instead of making this the night before, would have run this through the VitaMix for an even smoother look.  I used 3 Meyer lemons and part of a standard lemon for the juice and the zest.  It turned out relish.

Pastry Cream

This pastry cream will be a great filling for eclairs and more.  I just loved it and it was super simple. 

This recipe was also from Bryanna Clark Grogan but it took a bit of sleuthing to track it down, since it seems to not be on her site.  I found it on VegSource.com. (not the prettiest site!) and it could not be simpler.  I did grind the cashews in my mini-processor before measuring but that's the only modification.  It was super easy to do and came together fast and was delicious. 

Victoria Sponge Cake

I've been wanting to try a recipe from one of my newest acquisitions - Ms. Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town.  This cake was so easy and great, I can't wait to make more of her recipes.

One note: Unlike its US counterparts, Ms Cupcake’s recipe book uses metric as well as cup measurements. According to Ms Cupcake , if you’re having trouble baking with cups, it could be because you’re doing it wrong. If you’re measuring flour, you have to pour the flour into the cup - not scoop because that compacts the flour and you end up with the wrong amount.

Ingredients

3 Cups + 2 Tbsp self-rising flour

1 Cup + 3 Tbsp (caster) sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 2/3 Cups soy or rice milk (I used rice as that's what I had on hand)

2/3 Cup canola oil (or other flavorless oil)

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Grease and flour 2 round 8", 9" or 10" cake tins (Note: I used 10" because I wanted a thinner cake to cut up and layer in the trifle bowl. I also lined the bottom of the pans with parchment.) and pre-heat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together. Add the milk, oil and vanilla, stirring until just combined. Tap the bowl onto the work surface to stop the rising agents from working too quickly - you'll see any bubbles pop. Pour half the batter into each cake tin and tap the tins on the work surface to pop the bubbles again.

Bake for about 18 - 20 min or until a toothpick, inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 - 15 minutes in the tins and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Macerated Berries

No real recipe here. I took about 1 1/2 pounds of fresh strawberries, de-hulled them and cut them into quarters and then sprinkled with about 2 - 3 Tbsp of sugar and then the juice of 1 lemon. Stir and let sit in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble, at least 30 min.

Whipped Cream

I always keep about 2 cans of coconut milk in the refrigerator so I have it on hand for easy whipped cream. Let it sit and don't shake it at all! Scoop the solid coconut fat from the top of the cans of coconut milk into a bowl that has been in the freezer for at least an hour (I also keep my whisk attachment in the freezer too). Do not get any of the liquid into the solids, leave some of the solids in the can if you have to.

Whisk the solids briefly until it fluffs up and then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract to taste.

For this trifle, I would use about 4 cans worth of the coconut milk solids to ensure you have enough to cover 3 layers.

Assembly

I cut the two cakes into squares and then layered it into the bowl in the following order:

1. Cake

2. Whipped Cream

3. Macerated berries and fresh blueberries/raspberries

4. Lemon Curd

5. Pastry Cream

6. Cake

7. Whipped Cream

8. Macerated berries and fresh blueberries/raspberries

9. Lemon Curd

10. Pastry Cream

11. Cake

12. Whipped Cream

13. Fresh chopped berries

Dig in!

_______________

We also brought a savory dish to the gathering - a warm Sweet Potato and Chickpea salad (via Blissful Blog adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

We roasted our sweet potatoes for a bit longer than noted and added in some rice vinegar to taste for the dressing.

I traveled well and was delicious room temperature.  I think we need to make it again to have it more warm.

All in all, we ate a ton and are stuffed!  Our gatherings are good for the spirit but dangerous for my waistline!

Friends Don't Let Friends: Not Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Over the past several weeks, the husband and I have been getting together at another couple's house, along with another couple and all our dogs(!!!), for Sunday night dinner, games and The Walking Dead.

Yesterday, being St. Patrick's day, we decided to get all festive and do a full Irish dinner... veganized of course!

Everyone in the group cooks so we've had some great meals - enchiladas, tacos, lasagna, many many varieties of homemade pizza, chili, and more. Last night we had a corned beef-style seitan (made from scratch), colcannon made with kale, red cabbage and apples and Irish soda bread. Everything was amazing!

 I've also used these dinners to bring back what I call "Sunday Night Test Kitchen". I try to make a new recipe each time and we've had tiramisu, chocolate cheesecake, coconut cake and, of course, cupcakes.

Last night's dessert, to be festive, were Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Buttercream Frosting, modified from Chef Chloe's new book.

Ingredients

Chocolate Beer Cupcakes

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour plus ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup stout beer (I used Guinness Extra Stout, which is vegan)
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar (I used white)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Irish Whiskey Buttercream (note, I made my regular frosting and did not add milk)

• 1 cup non-hydrogenated shortening (I use Spectrum Organics)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 5 tablespoons soy, almond, or rice milk
• 3 to 4 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Caramel

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup vegan margarine
• 4 teaspoons soy, almond, or rice milk

I opted to ditch the caramel and instead do a festive green ombre frosting with green jimmies.

Here's the process:

Procedure

To make the Chocolate Beer Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) cupcake pans with 14 cupcake liners. Note, I got 16 cupcakes out of this recipe. 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together stout, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

To make the Irish Whiskey Buttercream

Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the shortening until smooth. With the mixer running on low, add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon nondairy milk at a time, as needed, until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. You may not need to use all of the nondairy milk. Add whiskey, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired taste. Beat on high for 2 more minutes until light and fluffy.

To make the Caramel

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, heat brown sugar, margarine, and nondairy milk, stirring frequently.  Once mixture comes together, increase heat to medium-high and let cook for one to two more minutes, until it begins to boil and the bubbles move into the center of the caramel. Remove from heat.

To assemble the cupcakes: Frost cooled cupcakes with buttercream and dust with cocoa powder. Drizzle warm caramel over cupcakes using a fork or a squeeze tube. Caramel will be easier to work with while warm.

If you want the ombre frosting, I use gel food coloring and then paint 4 stripes of it in my piping bag before putting in the frosting.  When it comes out, it's swirled!

I hope you enjoyed some craic and... 

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh

Friends Don't Let Friends: Not Eat Tofu

Some of my friends and family who know we are vegan ask us about tofu.  Well, I just saw this great graphic from Nasoya which gives a quick overview on "what the heck is tofu exactly?!?" and thought it did a great job.  Click here to see it BIG.

I also want to add a few bits of information.  First of all, let's get a few common misconceptions out of the way. 

1.There as has been some fear around eating soy and the implications of eating too much.  That was related to Isolated Soy Proteins (ISPs) and has been shown to be mostly groundless.  But like much modified foods, it's always best to modify your intake.  ISPs have been added to many processed foods trying to boost their healthy claims or "extending" the volume or lifespan of foods like ground beef.  They do this by creating Textured Soy Protein which is a processed food, a flour that is reconstituted, itself. 

Tofu and tempeh are whole foods made made from the soy bean.  They are not isolates and you would have to eat a TON to get any issues.  So no worries there!

2. We don't eat a ton of tofu or tempeh.  And we are probably eating less ISPs than the average SAD-eating person because we eat very few processed foods.

Now, onto the good stuff! 

But first I have a confession to make.  When I was in college I had a hippie-ish roommate for a year.  I remember she made tofu once or twice and I was skeptical/disdainful.  What a fool!  (I also had a roommate that ate hummus and I thought it looked vile.  Yep, I was pretty closed-mined about food growing up. There's a lot of stuff we never tried in spite of living in very culturally diverse Miami.  Oh well.)
So, there are two big "types" of tofu which have similar labels.  This can cause some confusion and cooking fear but don't worry. It's all good.

First is the vacuum packed silken tofu.  Being shelf stable, it's good to keep a few packs on hand.

The firmer water-packed kind is a bit more crumbly.  Since the creation process is similar think of these as a brie vs feta.

But what do you do with them, you ask, and what's with this draining process.

Well, the silken you can use straight out of the pack. As noted, this can be used for dips, spreads, baking etc.  It's also what you get in miso soup and I'll even use it for a scramble. 

The water-packed version is much sturdier and absorbable.  You can press the block between your hands when you open it to get out a good amount of the water, or you can press it using a tofu press or between two flat surfaces like cutting boards.  This allows a lot of the water out, allowing your seasonings or marinade in.  Just as people inject marinades into meats,  you're adding the flavors you want to the tofu.  (We all know the flavor comes from sauces and spices.  No surprise there!)

Then you cook.  You can stir-fry, grill, pan fry, bake, kabob, add it as a filling, etc.  Pretty much whatever you want.  And as you can see from this gallery, there are a LOT of options!

One of our first recipes with tofu is making a tofu scramble.  It's now a staple and so yummy.  I typically chop and saute an onion and a tomato but you can add peppers, jalapenos, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.  Whatever strikes your fancy.  I saute this in olive oil, some Braggs, a bit of liquid smoke and Tabasco, as well as a few drops of toasted sesame oil and salt and pepper.  Mix it up this basic recipe with herbs or whatever.

When the veggies are cooked, I add drained and crumbled tofu to the pan.  You are essentially giving the tofu time to absorb the flavors and heat up so you dont' need to leave it in there very long.  But if you need extra time, just put it on low.  You won't overcook it.
Then serve!

I'll talk about tempeh later but in the meantime, here are some additional resources.

1. Colleen Patrick-Godreau's podcast on Tofu and her one on Soy (they may take a moment to load, or you listen to them on iTunes.  Her podcast is Vegetarian Food for Thought).

2. Nasoya also has a downloadable recipe book too.

3. If you want an amazing sandwich, check out the tofu sandwich at Mellow Mushroom.  I get no mayo and they add some Daiya cheese and I'm in squishy sandwich tofu heaven.

Friends Don't Let Friends: Miss Oktoberfest Soft Pretzels

Eating giant soft pretzels at Oktoberfest is part of the fun annual tradition.  When we opened our new pub, we didn't want to miss out on this delicious treat.

The great thing is that, like most breads, these pretzels* are basically vegan-friendly already!

I whipped up a double batch and made them a bit smaller for easy mustard dunking.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 package active dry yeast

22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups

2 ounces EarthBalance (half a stick), melted

Vegetable oil, for pan

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

Pretzel or kosher salt

Directions:

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and melted EarthBalance and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. (I have even let it sit twice as long with no adverse effect).

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil or use a Sil-pat. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 or 16 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel lightly with vegetable oil sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

These keep well overnight.  If they seem a bit soft the next day, just pop them in a low oven to recrisp.  You can brush with oil and sprinkle with salt again as well.

These pretzels go great with beer or as a snack.

We love them with Lusty Monk mustards...

PROST!

*recipe adapted from Alton Brown via Food Network online