It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in London! If that means anything, it means that spring is on its way. Projects have been picking back up at work, my dad came for a visit over the Easter holidays, and Ben got a job offer for when he finishes his PhD this fall. Now if only the weather would actually warm up and the sun would come out – then it would really be spring!

After a couple of weeks off from baking, it was time to dive back in and get my hands dirty – literally. Because this week was bread week!

I found these pretzel rolls through Pinterest, and was instantly drawn to them. I’d actually been craving the salty, yet buttery taste of a warm, soft pretzel. Plus they were so simple – actually much simpler than normal pretzels (which was a bit of a mission last time I made them).

The recipe is pretty much exactly the same, just a smaller batch and using water instead of milk.  I also noticed that the dough was a bit more durable (for want of a better word) – so it would work really well for making normal pretzels too. This recipe makes 8 3-inch (ish) rolls, which are perfect for sandwiches – a few slices of roast beef, a bit of mustard, and you’re golden. Or, you can be like me and just tear them apart and eat them straight from the oven.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 5 Tablespoons (72 grams) butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• olive oil
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• coarse sea salt

Directions

1. In the bowl of your mixer fitted with a dough hook (or just a large bowl), pour in the warm water, brown sugar, yeast, and melted butter. Give them a gentle stir to bring them together, then allow them to sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

2. Mix together the flour and salt in a separate bowl so that the salt won’t come in direct contact with the yeast, because this would kill the yeast. Once they’re mixed, add them to your mixer and mix on a low speed until everything is combined. Increase the speed to medium and allow the dough to knead for 3-4 minutes, until it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.  You can knead the dough by hand if you’d like – it’s a good workout for the arms!

3. Coat a clean large bowl with a bit of olive oil to help prevent the dough from sticking to it. Place the kneaded dough in the bowl, cover, and allow to rise until it’s doubled in size – about an hour.

4. When your dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425°F (210°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Bring a pot of water to boil, then slowly add in the baking soda. Don’t add it too quickly, because sometimes it’ll bubble over. 

5. Divide your dough into 8 evenly-sized chunks (or make them smaller, bite-size rolls if you’d like – just remember to reduce your baking time) then shape them into a nice roll. Place each dough ball into the boiling water for 30 seconds. This will give your rolls the deep brown colour that’s characteristic of pretzels! Set each roll on your prepared baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with the sea salt while it’s still wet, then cut an ‘X’ into the top of each roll.

6. Bake your rolls for about 15 minutes until they reach that deep golden brown. Once finished, remove them immediately onto a wire rack to cool so that the bottoms don’t get soggy. Then either eat them on their own or slice and make into sandwiches! These rolls will easily keep 2-3 days if kept in a paper bag, or covered in a clean cloth. Don’t put them in plastic containers or bags, because the moisture will condense and make your rolls soggy.

When talking to my coworkers this week about what I should bake next, we all kind of agreed that I needed to try something savory. I have a serious sweet tooth, and I think baking with sugar is the best kind of baking. But, they were right, sometimes you just need to do something a bit more everyday.

This week I tried my hand at baking sandwich bread. Plain ol’ white bread. I’d made bread before, but never anything in a loaf pan. And with so few ingredients, white bread is a true test of bread-making. It’s pretty easy, but you just have to make sure you knead it correctly.

The Kitchn has a great recipe and a great tutorial on how to shape a bread loaf so that it turns out beautifully. I’d recommend following their technique if you want a uniform loaf.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 5 1/2 cups flour (plus extra for kneading)

Directions

1. Pour the warm water into the bowl of your mixture. Make sure it’s warm, not hot. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the water and let it sit for 5 minutes, until the yeast dissolves.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, salt, and milk. Add this mixture along with 1 cup flour into the bowl with your yeast and stir until it comes together in a loose, lumpy batter.

3. Gradually add in another 4 1/2 cups flour as you are mixing sot that the dough begins to form. At this point, switch to the dough hook on your mixture to knead for 6-8 minutes. Or, if you’d prefer, knead it by hand until the dough is smooth, yet slightly tacky. If you poke it, the dough should spring back a bit. If the dough is too sticky as you’re kneading, just add a dusting of flour.

4. Coat a large bowl with a bit of oil, then place in your dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place to rise for about an hour until it doubles in size.

5. Dust your countertop with a bit of flour and turn out your dough. Divide this into two even balls and let them rest for 10 minutes.

6. Grease two loaf pans, then shape each ball into a loaf and place in the pans, making sure the tops are taught to help them rise. Let them rise a second time for 30-40 minutes, until the dough starts to dome up over the edges of the pan.

7. Preheat your oven to 425°F (215°C) halfway through the second rise. Once you’re ready to bake your loaves, slice the top of the loaf down the length, then place into the oven. Immediately turn the oven down to 375°F (190°C).

8. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. The loaves are done when they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove them from their loaf pans and let them cool completely on wire racks.