I can't think of when I've had such a challenging time making a recipe, as I did with this one yesterday. Whoa...don't run away, picturing a complicated dish that will be impossible to make! The difficulties I encountered yesterday are completely separate from how easy and downright fun it is to make these pretzel shaped rolls.
OK, here's what happened. Deb calls for 10 minutes of mixing the dough but this shouldn't be a problem since the Kitchen Aid is going to do all the work. Only small hang-up was that my mixer kept dancing all over the counter top, making weird noises, and trying to sling the dough out of the bowl and onto the walls and floor of the kitchen. Ten minutes of this, I wondered? Where were Deb's detailed notes saying that we might want to clear the house of any other people before letting loose with such a clacking racket? How about the warnings to be ready to dodge flying dough missiles?
I finally figured out I'd forgotten to lock the tilting head in place and, once that lever was switched to proper position, everything got quieter and less projectile. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, it came time to take the bowl off the stand assembly of the mixer. Only the bowl wouldn't budge, no matter how much heft and weight I applied. You've never seen such wrangling in your life, as I struggled mightily to get that bowl disengaged from it's base. This is a mixer I've owned for many, many years without ever encountering this problem before, but stuck is stuck and my bowl was stuck. I pushed and pulled. I put the mixer on the floor and tried using brute force. A bruise came up immediately on my right palm next to my thumb, but still that bowl remained firmly lodged.
Things got desperate so I went to the internet to find fixes. It was kind of freaky to watch a video from a woman with the same problem and learn that her stuck bowl had occurred the very first time she used her brand new Kitchen Aid! Even worse, from the way she talked, the problem tended to be reoccurring. She outlined four possible fixes for the stuck bowl. The first one I'd already tried - a hot towel wrapped around the base of the bowl. I did it again. Then oil at the base. No luck. Now onto a variation of what I'd done before with putting the machine on the floor. (About this time, I was more inclined to pitch it through the kitchen window but with my now injured hand, didn't have the strength to heave that mighty behemoth out of my sight.) Once the mixer was on the floor, Fix-It Lady demonstrated a straddling position to gain power and leverage before yanking the bowl apart. No luck. I can't remember the fourth strategy but I know that I had to walk away from the problem for awhile. So, I went in the family room, watched an episode of Once, and then came back to repeat the hot compress and oil treatments. This time something worked and the bowl finally dislodged. Let's hope I don't have to repeat that process anytime soon!
Other than a recalcitrant mixer, I loved making this recipe. Here are a few notes about the process:
This recipe is from Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen cookbook but I'd copied the entire recipe into my Paprika app so I could make an easy shopping list. The first instruction says to dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup of milk but I somehow managed to write that up as 1/3 TEASPOON of milk. First off, how do you measure a third teaspoon????? That should've been my first clue something was amiss but, silly me, I heaped up slightly less than 1/2 and then added the yeast. Ummmm...let's think about the physics of this - dissolving a teaspoon of yeast in 1/3 teaspoon of liquid - not going to happen. Realizing my error, I went back to the book and figured out the correct amounts.
Still on the yeast, milk step, I wondered about putting the yeast in cold milk. Usually, Deb is detailed and meticulous in outlining every step but why no mention of heating the milk? Does instant yeast not require a warm agent to mix with? I decided to email my daughter the Berkeley scientist and ask if she thought I should warm the milk first. She's actually made these rolls in the past so I figured she'd be the expert. I completely forgot that her new lab deals with yeast cultures, giving way to this witty reply: "I've never considered you a Clueless Cook (that's how I'd signed my email to her) but I'm having to reconsider now that you're reaching out to scientists in one of the world's leading yeast laboratories at a major research institution just to make some bread. Overkill, much? Dial it down a bit, Mom!"
With help from a scientist at one of the world's leading yeast laboratories at a major research institution, I decided to warm the milk first and my yeast rose and all was good.
By far, the most fun part of making this bread is rolling out those dough snakes. Deb mentions that she finds it easier not to flour the counter for this step and I found that to be true. I rolled mine out using a large mat I have for making pie dough. The bonus was having a marked ruler along the edges, allowing me to see when I'd reached the 18 inches needed for each strand. I can't tell you how much rolling those snakes out felt like using Play-Dough with my kids when they were small. It seemed both therapeutic and nostalgic to start with a big blob of dough and energetically transform it to long and lean coils, ready to be shaped into pretzels. Which, by the way, turned out to be another ridiculously fun continuation of the throwback to Play-Dough days. It's embarrassing to think about how pleased I was with my ability to take a long strand of dough and expertly mold it to pretzel perfection. Ah, the small pleasures in life!
I ate one of these chocolatey rolls straight out of the oven and still so hot I had to handle it gingerly - and after the last yummy bite was gone, I sat and just took in the lingering smell of baked goodness.
Chocolate Chip Brioche Pretzels
from Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
yield: eight 4-inch pretzels
for the dough:
1/3 cup (80 ml) whole milk
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (6 ounces or 170 grams) well- chopped chocolate (for the best chocolate flavor) or miniature chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (optional, but lovely if you're into that
chocolate-orange thing)
for the glaze:
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon water
Coarse or pearl sugar, for finishing
Make brioche: Whisk the milk and yeast together in a small dish until the yeast has dissolved. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, stir together fl our, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs and the yeast mixture, and mix at a low speed until the dough comes together in a shaggy pile. Raise the speed to medium, and beat for 10 minutes; the long mixing time creates the soft, stretchy strands brioche is known for. Add the butter, a third at a time, mixing the dough between additions. Now switch to the dough hook, and knead at low speed until a silky- smooth dough forms, another 5 minutes. Add the chocolate and zest, if using, and run the machine until it is mixed into the dough.
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm spot for 2 hours, until almost doubled. Alternatively, you can rest the dough in the fridge overnight (or up to 24 hours), bring back to room temperature, and let the rise complete before continuing to the next step.
Meanwhile, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Form pretzels: Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into eight pieces, about 3 1/4 ounces (93 grams) each. Working with one piece at a time, roll each piece into an 18-inch-long rope about 1/2 inch thick. Curiously, I find these ropes easier to roll and stretch on an unfloured or very lightly oiled surface, but if you find yours sticking too much, lightly fl our your counter before continuing.
To form the pretzel, draw the ends of a rope together to form a circle. About 2 inches from both ends, twist the rope ends together to close the circle-- a full twist, so that the rope end that started on the right side finishes there. Fold the twist down into the circle, adhering the loose ends of the rope at five and seven o'clock on the base. Repeat to make eight pretzel twists. Transfer them to prepared baking sheets, brush them with glaze, and let them rest for about 15 minutes, during which they'll puff slightly again.
To finish: Brush pretzels with glaze one more time, sprinkle with pearl or coarse sugar, then bake for 12 minutes, or until puffed and lightly bronzed. Cool slightly on a rack before serving, if you can bear it.
Cooking note: Unfortunately, I find this to be the rare bread dough that's radically easier to make with a stand mixer. Nevertheless, should you feel up for the challenge, you can vigorously "knead" the dough in a large bowl with a wooden spoon for a good 10 minutes before adding the butter. Yes, this takes longer than your average bread dough, but that long kneading time is what yields the long, stretchy strands essential to great brioche.
(Ready to be baked)
Chocolate Chip Brioche Pretzels
from Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
yield: eight 4-inch pretzels
for the dough:
1/3 cup (80 ml) whole milk
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (6 ounces or 170 grams) well- chopped chocolate (for the best chocolate flavor) or miniature chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (optional, but lovely if you're into that
chocolate-orange thing)
for the glaze:
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon water
Coarse or pearl sugar, for finishing
Make brioche: Whisk the milk and yeast together in a small dish until the yeast has dissolved. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, stir together fl our, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs and the yeast mixture, and mix at a low speed until the dough comes together in a shaggy pile. Raise the speed to medium, and beat for 10 minutes; the long mixing time creates the soft, stretchy strands brioche is known for. Add the butter, a third at a time, mixing the dough between additions. Now switch to the dough hook, and knead at low speed until a silky- smooth dough forms, another 5 minutes. Add the chocolate and zest, if using, and run the machine until it is mixed into the dough.
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm spot for 2 hours, until almost doubled. Alternatively, you can rest the dough in the fridge overnight (or up to 24 hours), bring back to room temperature, and let the rise complete before continuing to the next step.
Meanwhile, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Form pretzels: Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into eight pieces, about 3 1/4 ounces (93 grams) each. Working with one piece at a time, roll each piece into an 18-inch-long rope about 1/2 inch thick. Curiously, I find these ropes easier to roll and stretch on an unfloured or very lightly oiled surface, but if you find yours sticking too much, lightly fl our your counter before continuing.
To form the pretzel, draw the ends of a rope together to form a circle. About 2 inches from both ends, twist the rope ends together to close the circle-- a full twist, so that the rope end that started on the right side finishes there. Fold the twist down into the circle, adhering the loose ends of the rope at five and seven o'clock on the base. Repeat to make eight pretzel twists. Transfer them to prepared baking sheets, brush them with glaze, and let them rest for about 15 minutes, during which they'll puff slightly again.
To finish: Brush pretzels with glaze one more time, sprinkle with pearl or coarse sugar, then bake for 12 minutes, or until puffed and lightly bronzed. Cool slightly on a rack before serving, if you can bear it.
Cooking note: Unfortunately, I find this to be the rare bread dough that's radically easier to make with a stand mixer. Nevertheless, should you feel up for the challenge, you can vigorously "knead" the dough in a large bowl with a wooden spoon for a good 10 minutes before adding the butter. Yes, this takes longer than your average bread dough, but that long kneading time is what yields the long, stretchy strands essential to great brioche.
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