In “real life” these are not as dark as they appear – who knows why –

Like most, with New Year come thoughts of eating healthier – So long as you are not concerned about gluten – Pretzel bites are healthier than say chips.
And Pretzel buns make great sandwiches. So the search for a bread machine recipe – here is the tweak intended for the Bread Machine (Leaven) Dough cycle.

I needed something to do that would not be grossly affected by occluded vision issue today.
Recipe makes 24 Snack bites, or 8 slider “cupcakes” or 4 Burger size rolls. To try the different sizes, I did 8 bites, 4 cupcakes and two burger (except I kept some aside to try refrigerating and freezing “experiments”.) so only 1 burger bun actually done. The bites and 3 slider cup cakes did not last long enough to participate in my poor photography effort.

Bread Machine Settings:  you will want the Menu/Program that Is usually used for “Dough” Or Some (KBS is one) “Leaven Dough” consisting of:
Stir (gentle – mixes ingredients,
Rest usually only a few minutes to allow liquid to reach all the dry ingredients
Stir (more vigorous – some might call it Kneading)
Rise (some describe as fermentation)
Total time is usually around 1.5 hours.

Ingredients
2.5 cup All Purpose Or Bread Flour
(these also work out well with a 1c Sourdough Starter Plus 1.5c AP or Bread Flour)

1/3 cup VWG – Vital Wheat Gluten

+ .5 cup “bread flour” & if needed for dough
2 Tbl Malted Milk Powder (Carnation or Ovaltine)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar or honey
1.5 cup warm water (75-85 degree) “Aged” – NOT STRAIGHT FROM THE TAP WATER – Spring or Distilled is best for bread/yeast Or, you can “Age” your tap water by allowing it to sit on the counter in an open container for a few hours so  before using so chemicals used in water purification like chlorine can evaporate.
2.25 tsp Bread Machine Yeast (if you try cake yeast, let me know how it works for you)

Boiling Liquid
8 Tbl Baking Soda (I used a 1.5 quart pot, with 4 cups of tap water that have been left standing for several hours to allow the chlorine to dissipate.

Here is what I did =

In 1.5 oz cup of 75-85 degree water,
add 2.25 tsp Bread Machine Yeast
set aside till bubbly
other yeast might work, but it is “what I had”

For the dough:
Combine in a bowl & lightly whisk to incorporate
2.5 cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp sugar or honey (this feeds the yeast, no sugar subs)
1 tsp salt

In bread machine pan, add
1/2 cup luke warm water
yeast mixture – be sure to get all
Flour Mixture

Set to “dough” cycle – turn on and keep an eye on it – you may need to add a bit more water or flour to get a nice smooth dough.

This recipe is supposedly “no rise needed” just a 30 minute “rest” which sounds suspiciously like a rise to me,

while the dough is resting, prepare the bath – this is what makes it turn that nice pretzel brown with the excellent “shell”

In a pot, combine 2 Tbl Baking Soda for each Cup of Water
Continuously Stir till Baking Soda is fully dissolved
and water is simmering nicely

For bites, grease a medium to large size cookie sheet
(this recipe makes 24 – for Slider grease medium size cup cake tin(s) GENEROUSLY
for Burger buns, medium cookie sheet (I did try mini pie pans and do not plan to repeat that idea any time soon. I foresee making a combination of bites and buns, so plan to try the slider size on a cookie sheet next time

I was recently gifted with this set of dough tools from Nordicware along with the Breadtopia.com Sour Dough starter and the red one worked very nicely
Using a floured dough cutter or other tool of your choice.
For bites and sliders:
1. cut the dough into FOUR (4) “equal” they should each weigh about 4oz.
2. Then for Bites, cut each 1/4 into 8, and
or For Sliders, cut into 1/3rds
Or Burger rolls, divide the full dough (approximately 16 ozs or a bit more)
cut into SIX (6) equal pieces or fewer for larger rolls

Once all your shapes have been prepared it time for the dough to take a quick bath.
Drop each into your simmering Baking Soda solution, for 10 seconds, flip over and remove after another 7 -10 seconds. Place on a wire rack to drain

Using a REALLY sharp knife, or dough slasher or safety razor blade – make an X slash on the top of each shape and place on the WELL buttered baking pan.
Sprinkle top (or not) with coarse salt, everything bagel or other topping (or not )

Some may appreciate that my slasher of choice is the Sculpey Slicer with Safety Handle favored by those who work in Polymer Clay and/or otherwise are a danger to themselves (but the Kitchen blades will never meet clay)

While baking, prepare your favorite dipping sauce – we like to combine a 2-3oz of a melty cheese with a Tbl of butter and sometimes other flavors like garlic, or 1/4 tsp of horse radish.

My Amazon Affiliate link may provide a small commission at not additional cost to you for your merchandise should you purchase this this link

The Hamilton Beach Professional Sure-Crisp Digital Toaster Oven Air Fryer Combo, 1500W, 6 Slice Capacity, Stainless Steel (31241)   This is the everyday – unless in progress for replacement (Heating Elements tend to burn out in HB products.

Place in preheated 375 degree oven of your choice until the brown you prefer.
For bites: approximately 10-13 minutes
for sliders: approximately 12-15 minutes
for rolls: approximately 14-18 minutes
remove to the wire rack and allow to cool for at least 3-10 minutes so not too soft and doughy inside
|
P.S. Cost of 4 Pretzel Burger sized buns in Stupid Market – $4-$6
Cost, including electricity $3.50 for 8 rolls
and they are fresher, healthier and lower cost – time is not an issue/cost/consideration since this is for “home consumption” and I like to prepare food
|Caveat Emptor: we purchased the smaller HB Oven Model 31403 “because it was on sale, had a coupon and the Larger one was failing.  It toasted fine, BUT, the shelves are very tipsy – we would not buy this again.  The Pro, when it is working correctly (FYI the probe never has worked correctly, but I can live with that) In the last few years several NEW machines from HB have had a similar problem with the heating elements SUDDENLY not functioning and thus temps fluctuate as much as 100F and as little as 50F.
Fortunately we purchased the extended warranty. It uses about 20% less electricity than the Stove Oven and holds a 12 in pizza and up to a 12×13 pan with no handles and room to breath or allow air circulation/convection as the case may be.

I ALWAYS recommend shopping locally for ingredients. If you need to see what “they look like”  well-that is the main reason for my Amazon (affiliate) Idea Lists and yes, if you use them to make a purchase, I may or may not receive a commission.
Wheat’s Amazon (affiliate) Idea Lists:
–  Bread and Dough https://amzn.to/3wUoNi9
–  Ingredients       https://amzn.to/48X13Ht

_{updated a bit: 2023-Dec-19
updated a bit: 2024-Feb -15
updated a bit: 2026-Mar-10}

A few days ago I mentioned being deeply disturbed by season finale of Scandal – because that 2 minutes made it so very clear how selfish so many have become – this was not about a victim of rape, or a danger to the life of the mother, or even “knowing” the child was going to face extreme challenges physically.
it was merely done because a promiscuous person felt it would interfere with her lifestyle and desire to change a living situation – in other words for totally selfish reasons.

This two minutes or less showed less concern and emotion than most women show during a routine pap smear. No matter the outburst that followed, that just bolsters my belief that such a choice has many consequences, but that she really only cared about how to avoid the responsibilities of the choices she had made was more than a little disgusting. And, yes, it really did make me vomit.

Every day we read of more “demands” by the self entitled and often concerned about the level of narcissism we have as parents, grand parents, teachers and others who act in locoparenti have not just allowed but encouraged to become acceptable.

I really fear for the future when a young man from a multi-millionaire family somehow thinks that the color of his skin entitles him to a free education. It is exactly this sort of hypocrisy that makes it even more difficult to help those who truly need a hand up in our society.

I wonder how we have become so anesthetized to real problems that we encourage and allow ourselves and our children to become so very selfish and worse, lazy. And then I watch any television program, including many “Children’s” shows and realize that it is just one of the many tools being used to destroy our children’s minds as well as their moral and ethical development

There are and always have been so many real issues – like how being fired for refusing to cooperate with the sexual advances of the general manager meant also not getting even meager unemployment benefits and how that firing made employment so difficult for many years thereafter.

There are many stories to tell, each of us has lived thru them. But yes, we have to find ways to communicate the real core of the issues.

I sincerely hope every father, brother, uncle, cousin, just really every real man will read this blog article
and perhaps begin to see their daughter, sister, aunt, just every female they know in a new light –

For those who do even see this problem, but think their maleness entitles them to behave egregiously – well, they aren’t much of man – now are they.

And will at least personally refuse to allow such behavior – because then maybe at least some small portion of respect for all life will once again become a part of everyday life.

That would truly be something to be thankful for – a gift to all the generations to come

If you want to make a difference, consider making a commitment:
because just sharing a placard on Social Media means nothing.

Last year after thinking about it – not shopping on ONE DAY makes no difference if you are then bright and early every day thereafter.

I decided I would not buy at Wal-Mart until they changed their family holiday policy for one of the two “purely” US Holidays’ Thanksgiving. It does, often, conflict with our policy about buying local whenever at all possible – but not so much after all.

According to my records (and yes I do keep every sales receipt) between Thanksgiving 2013 & 2014, as a couple we spent about $3500 in our local Wal-Mart – including RX Co-Pays.

Beginning November 2015 we transferred all his RX to another pharmacy –
Keeping in mind, that I do not require anyone, including him to walk off the plank with me, in the past 11.5 months, our Wal-Mart purchases are (including the co-pays in December while getting RX transferred) total less than $75.

Did this take some effort? yes, but I am anything if not stubborn when ti comes to something that “matters to me”

Did it mean paying more for a few necessities? Maybe, but not enough to change my mind. For example, a brand new super Wal-Mart just opened, so yes we spent a few hours browsing. Even spent 88 cents for a cup cake tin and 1.72 for a good tray for a bead tray experiment.

But I was also armed with my “comparison shopping list” which is a notebook that lists all the food & household supplies we use on a regular basis.

Turns out that Wal-Mart continues to be no more competitive – even with store brands – except for ONE item – In fact more than 85% of the everyday low prices were 10 to 20 % HIGHER than any other stupid markets prices. Including his RX Co-Pays.

Did it mean a bit of extra effort? Yes, it did = but it seems the one thing that temped me most – Idaho Potatos – is no longer going to be stocked year round. and the produce manager in my preferred stupid market lets me know when they are “special purchase” in his store.

Do I think many will make a similar commitment? No, and that is okay with me – we each get to choose what really matters and so requires action on our part.

Was it worth it? Yes, I think so – apparently both financially and emotionally.
We in fact saved money. Yes I am proud of myself – maybe I will invent a “Thanksgiving is for Families” chip –

Do I think Wal-Mart much misses our $$$$ ?
probably not – but imagine if even 1/10th of its customers – even just for one critical quarter – October to December – did the same thing…

Will I still browse at our local Wal-Mart and maybe “slip” because an employee was helpful in my “information gathering” expeditions?
Probably

Now on to preparing the “winter stock up” shopping.

Let you know next year if I am as incorrigible as charged.

Enjoy The Making

Wheat

For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is an increased sensitivity to certain additives (soy, corn sweeteners, sulfates, etc) as well as necessary dietary restrictions; I have been “experimenting” with making down sized recipes – not an easy task for someone who spent time after college in banquet kitchens, so more comfortable prepping for 20 to 2000 than for 2.

Freezing is the easy answer for entrees often an answer when it is just too complicated to really down size a recipe and desserts are a rather different set of challenges.

As a life long fan of breaking down a task so that it can be done in small bits – I have always “pre-measured” and then stored dry ingredients of many “basic” recipes. Some, like pie crumb & Pastry shells, even lend themselves itself to freezing. (by the way, I highly recommend the use of Vanilla powder over extract for just this reason.)

Some ingredients do not lend themselves to freezing and so can’t be included in the assembly line plan. “fillings” are often there and I doubt Marie Calendar is going to share her tricks with us.

That just leaves the filling and good as my desserts might be – no one really want the same one for a week straight so it does not ‘go bad’. AND sometimes one wants more variety to satisfy “everyone” (cheese cake flavoring would be an example)

So I was happy to see apparently the writers of the King Arthur blog have been getting signals from my brain – so not exactly what I “need” lots of helpful ideas in their blog today Freeze & Bake Tips and the little added gem about what freezes well or less weel was “hidden” in the comments so there may be more freshly baked bread and calzones in the monthly menu –

Enjoy The Making

Wheat

Based on the 1st Amendment – so long as I remain within the parameters of not inciting panic or riots,
my speech is Politically Correct.
my new banner (or it will be as soon as I remember HOW to add it to the blog – will be my answer for all who would, as a result of their opinions, feel my voiws are not okay and should be changed.