We’re getting ready to host my brother and his family this weekend and it’s been a flurry of activity to get ready. We live 12 hours apart and so there’s often a good stretch of months between our time together. Everyone is excited to play with cousins and to show them around Hillsdale. Both of our oldest girls start high school in the fall and I sense that these visits with all the kids are fleeting. I’m hoping to bake some fun things while they’re here for us all to enjoy together!
Speaking of fun things to bake, soft sourdough pretzels – this week’s bake – are a family favorite both to eat and to make! Even my youngest loves to help roll out the dough for our family and shape it. He’s proud of a job well done, and the pretzels taste even better when you’ve been a part of making them. These sourdough pretzels are the perfect combination of soft and chewy with just the thinnest mahogany-colored crust on the outside. If I had to choose a desert island food, this just might be it. Each order has 3 pretzels, and while these don’t keep as well as other breads, they do freeze very well!
Always available is my house sourdough with freshly-milled grains. This is a wonderful introduction to sourdough bread if you are new to it. Sourdough is simply a term to describe the natural fermentation that gives this kind of bread its rise. I don’t use any commercial yeast in any of my sourdough bakes. Most (though not all) sourdough breads at the grocery store are still driven by yeast with some added sourdough culture for flavor. I let the natural leavening do its work in giving breads a long, cold rise which adds to both the nutritional value and the flavor profile. Give this one a try!