Successful Sunday baking experiments

The other week week I was reading a new addition to my RSS feeds, The Giant Blog of Cooking, Crafting and Other Fun Activities, I came across her recipe for giant pretzels. This was something I'd not tried before so I made a plan to attempt these the following Sunday.

A walk down to the local supermarket for some yeast was the first step and then I got into baking!

Bubbling, growing yeast

Ingredients
(reproduced from GBCCOFA)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast, or 1 packet
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. warm water, about 110 degrees F
3 c. flour
1 c. bread flour
2 c. warm water
2 Tbsp baking soda
3 Tbsp melted butter
Coarse Kosher Salt

Notes
I used 3 cups of plain flour instead of part bread flour. My warm water was around 50°C. Finally, I just used regular salt from my grinder in place of the Kosher salt. Oh, and I used Lowan Instant Dried Yeast.

Method
Combine water, sugar, yeast and salt and leave for about 10 minutes till it's bubbling.
Add flour and mix with a dough hook till it reaches an elastic consistency.
Cover mix in oil and leave to rise for about an hour.

Rising dough

Combine warm water and baking soda (or bi-carb) in a dish and set up your pretzel production line!
Separate dough into 12 parts and roll till almost 3 feet (a bit under a metre long).

The pretzel production line

Shape the pretzels then dip in the baking-soda-water mix and lay on a tray.
Bake at 230°C until crispy and brown.

Ready to come out of the oven

Add whatever topping you like. The blog suggested butter and salt so that's what I used. Plus I love my butter! One suggestion from a friend who tried them was sugar and cinnamon with butter or syrup to make it stick.

Giant pretzels

I do indeed

It must be autumn: Pumpkin Soup

Autumn has won the battle for my favourite season. I love the weather, the fashions and the food, especially pumpkin soup. I decided to make some a few Sundays ago and found a recipe for red lentil and pumpkin soup on the always handy recipe site, Taste.com.au. After a post-church pumpkin buying excursion with a friend, I made a few modifications, incorporating the ingredients we had on hand at home and some suggestions from other Taste users to make my Hot Pumpkin and Lentil Soup.

Ingredients and trusty "recipe book" all ready to go

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion
1.4 kg pumpkin
3/4 cup red lentils
2 medium carrots
1 tbsp curry powder
10g vegetable stock powder
5g garlic butter
1.3 litres water

Fry onion then add curry powder

Method
1. Fry onion until just browning or getting soft
2. Add curry powder and garlic butter
3. Add 300 mL of water
4. Add washed red lentils and allow to soften while preparing vegetables
5. Chop pumpkin and soften slightly in microwave with a dash of water
6. Same for carrots

Leave covered to simmer

7. Add vegetables, remaining litre of water and vegetable stock powder
8. Bring to boil and then allow to simmer until pumpkin, carrot and lentils are fully softened
9. Blend soup in portions -- however much your blender will take!

Blend, blend, blend

10. Leave to simmer and thicken. Serve warm with a dolop of sour cream if you wish

Hot Pumpkin and Lentil Soup

Notes
It makes quite a spicy soup and next time I think I'll halve the curry powder and add more carrots and pumpkin. After 3-4 servings, I added another half a kilo of pumpkin. It probably gave around 15 serves of just under 200g each.

Too-wit, too-woo

I've been gradually reworking my collection of RSS feeds in Google Reader to be only the things that really inspire and intrigue me. I'm trialling the inclusion of the blog print & pattern amongst them. My favourite discovery from this blog so far are some cute-as-anything owl themed plates by Donna Wilson:

My favourite plate is actually the Birdy Walk Dinner Plate. Such cute, simple, clean style.

Things to Love About Christmas

1. Writing Christmas cards - The perfect excuse to appreciate the people in your life and tell them so

2. Baking Christmas treats - Delicious, seasonal, fun and perfect for presents that don't create clutter

3. Doing Christmas crafts - Traditional colours and symbols give even the most-uninspired something with which to create

4. Helping out those in need - Something about Christmas gets people excited about giving

The Beautiful Things

I'd like to re-dedicate this blog to the beautiful things in life. Sometimes my interpretation of that might surprise you but I hope you're inspired anyway.

This blog is for Smiles, Baking, Arts & Crafts, Words, Pictures, Creation, Faith & Trust, Changing, Reflections, Looking Forward, Encouragement and Dancing.

It's for me, it's for you, it's for God.