Angie's Recipes . Taste Of Home

Browse » Home » All posts

Laugenstangen Pretzel Sticks with Barley Malt Extract

Saturday, September 25, 2021

These pretzel breadsticks are warm, crusty with a satisfyingly chewy, soft center, just as traditional knotty pretzels, but easier to make and enjoy. Best served hot from the oven with cheese sauce or mustard if desired. We love it with extra butter.
The dough of soft pretzel is a rather simple yeast dough that can be made in an hour. The fun and tricky part is to dip the pretzels in a lye bath (In German this mixture is called Natronlauge) before baking, which gives the pretzels their typical caramel aroma, unique deep brown yet shiny colour and chewy texture. For a crunchy and aromatic crust, just like the one you usually find in the bakeries in Germany, you will have to use Natriumhydroxid (NaOH) instead of regular baking soda (NaHCO3). Natriumhydroxid (NaOH), also known as lye or caustic soda, can be dangerous if misused. So do wear eye protection and rubber gloves if you want to make lye solution for the pretzels. One much easier and safer solution is to use baked baking soda. Simply place baking soda on aluminum lined baking tray and bake for an hour at 120C/245F. When baking soda/sodium hydrogen carbonate/NaHCO3 is heated, it becomes the more concentrated sodium carbonate/soda/Na2CO3, which ensures a darker lye colour when dissolved in water, and better taste than baking soda could.

115 ml Water, lukewarm
115 ml Milk, lukewarm
18 g Fresh yeast (or 9 g active dry yeast)
15 g Barley malt extract
20 g Butter, melted
5 g Sea salt
430 g All-purpose flour

1l Water
50 g Baked baking soda
Coarse sea salt

In the bowl of your mixer, add in warm water and milk. Crumble in the fresh yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add in barley malt extract, melted butter, sea salt and flour. Mix on slow speed until the mixture just roughly come together, about 5 minutes. Increase the speed and knead until the dough has become smooth and elastic, 4-6 minutes. Turn out the dough on a work surface and shape into a round. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 120C/245F. Place baking soda on aluminum foil-lined baking tray and bake for an hour.
Punch dough down and divide into 6 even portions. Press one piece of dough into a rough rectangle and roll into a 20cm log. Pinch ends and center seam well to seal. Place it, seam side down, on a baking tray lined with permanent baking foil or parchment paper. Repeat with the rest. Cover the dough and proof until puffed, about 30 minutes.
Place 1 liter water in a large skillet and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat off and add in hot baking soda. Stir until dissolved.
Preheat the oven to 220C/430F. Carefully transfer 1 pretzel stick at a time to the baking soda water and let soak for 5-7 seconds, then return them to the baking tray.
Sprinkle with coarse salt. Cut 3 diagonal slashes across the top with a sharp knife or a razor blade. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until pretzels are toasty brown and crispy.

Read On 47 comments

Radicchio Arugula Salad with Figs, Walnuts and Fresh Goat Cheese

Friday, September 24, 2021

This simple bittersweet Fall salad with arugula, radicchio, fresh figs and walnuts is a lovely light starter or side dish, and surely will liven up any meal. The honey vinaigrette takes a few minutes to make and very versatile. It delivers lots of wonderful flavour, but won't overpower the salad. The recipe is a great base for other combinations of oil (avocado oil), vinegar (red wine or apple cider vinegar), and syrups (maple or date syrup). You can either use the dressing immediately, or you can make it a couple of days in advance of serving.

Salad	Honey Vinaigrette
80 g Walnuts, toasted 75 g Arugula 75 g Radicchio, tore into bite-sized pieces 5 Fresh figs, cut into wedges 100 g Fresh goat cheese Dill or parsley, choped	4 tbsp Olive oil 2 tbsp White balsamic vinegar 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp Honey A large pinch of cayenne pepper Salt and black pepper, to taste

Heat walnuts in a dry, heavy skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes and smell toasted, stirring constantly to ensure even toasting until the nuts turn golden brown. Remove to a plate to cool.
Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a clean jar. Cover with lid, and shake until fully blended. Chill until ready to use.
Place arugula, radicchio, and fig wedges in a large salad bowl. Add in 1/3 of the salad dressing and gently toss them together. Divide it into two serving plates. Top with fresh goat cheese and chopped dill. Crumble the toasted walnuts over. Serve it with the rest of the vinaigrette.

Read On 41 comments

Haselnusshörnchen Hazelnut Crescents with Spelt and Potato

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

This German-style nut pastry (Haselnusshörnchen) can be found in almost every bakery in Germany. It's very easy to make this at home and the result is just as delicious. You can use either hazelnut or almond, or a combination of two. They are fantastic to serve at the breakfast or in the afternoon with a pot of freshly brewed coffee. I have found the recipe in a local weekly magazine (Neue Post) and just tweaked a bit based on our taste and pantry stock.

Dough	Filling
300 g Potatoes 60 g Butter 100 g Sugar 2 Eggs, medium 400 g White spelt flour 15 g Baking powder	135 g Ground hazelnut 45 g Coconut sugar 5 tbsp Coconut milk 1 tsp Vanilla Icing sugar, to dust

Cover the potatoes with water in a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover the pot with a lid and let simmer until fork-tender, about 25 minutes. Drain potatoes and cool to room-temperature. Chill the potatoes overnight. Peel and weigh 250 grams for the recipe.
Whisk together the spelt flour and baking powder together. Use a potato press to press the potato into the flour mixture.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one by one, until combined. Add in flour-potato mixture. Mix until you have a firm and smooth dough. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Mix ground hazelnuts, coconut sugar, coconut milk and vanilla together until you have a thick paste. Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Grease and line two baking trays with baking paper. Roll out the dough into a 40cm circle. Spread the prepared hazelnut paste evenly on the circle. Cut the circle into 12 triangles/wedges. Roll up each triangle from the wide end to form a crescent.
Place them on the prepared baking trays. Bake in the middle of hot oven for about 30 minutes until lightly golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Read On 46 comments

Easy Plum Tart

Saturday, September 18, 2021

This party-worthy tart is a simple way to showcase the seasonal plums. You can easily substitute sliced apples or pears for the plums with great results. I used a basic sweet shortcrust, but you can definitely use store bought one. Chill your crust for at least 30 minutes. One of the reasons that fruit tarts have a soggy bottom is from the moisture of the fruit. The most effective way to prevent soggy crust is to blind bake the crust before filling with fruit. Another way to prevent the pastry crust from getting soggy is to sprinkle ground almonds (or breadcrumbs/graham cracker crumbs/crushed cornflakes, etc.) into the crust bottom, which helps soak up the juice released from the fruit during the baking. Slice the plums into even thin slices and try to keep the slices together so you can arrange them nicely into the crust without making a mess.

Sweet Shortcrust	Filling
200 g White spelt flour 60 g Wholegrain spelt flour 50 g Vanilla sugar A pinch of sea salt 100 g Butter, cold 40 g Lard	3 tbsp Ground almond, toasted (or breadcrumbs) 8 Ripe yet firm plums, cut into even thin slices 1/2 tbsp Honey (or maple syrup), optional Thyme leaves 30 g Butter, cubed Raw pistachios

Sift spelt flours into a large bowl and stir in vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt. Cut in butter and lard. Rub together with your fingertips until moist clumps form. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of a 24cm-26cm tart pan with removable bottom. Prick the crust all over with a fork. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven 190C/375F. Line pastry with baking paper and fill with pastry weights or beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights. Bake for a further 8-10 minutes or until light golden. (This is called blind baking the crust, which is the most effective way to prevent soggy crust. If you are in a hurry, just sprinkle ground almond or breadcrumbs onto the crust. This too helps soak up the juice released from the fruit during the baking and keep the crust from getting soggy. )
Remove the crust from the oven and sprinkle the ground almond onto the crust. Arrange the plum slices in clusters, alternating between horizontal and vertical. There’s no need to be too fussy – as long as they fit snugly next to each other, it will be just fine.
Drizzle honey or maple syrup if using, thyme leaves, and dot with cubed butter. Bake for 30 minutes until the pastry edges are golden brown and the fruit is tender. Garnish with raw pistachios. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Read On 50 comments

Sesame and Fennel Seed Bread

Thursday, September 16, 2021

This flavour-packed bread is great with yoghurt cheese (labneh), air-dried ham and some olives. An ideal substitute for fennel seeds is anise seeds, as they have a similar flavour. However, the anise seeds are more pungent, so you might want to use slightly less. You can also substitute equal amounts of caraway or dill seeds. It is an excellent sharing bread for serving with soups or salads, and is really easy to make.

Dough	Filling&Topping
300 g All purpose or white bread flour 1/2 tsp Fine sea salt 2/3 tbsp Fennel seeds, lightly toasted and crushed in a pestle and mortar 170 ml Lukewarm water 15 g Fresh yeast (or 7 g dried yeast) 1 tsp Sugar 1 tbsp Olive oil	3 tbsp Tahini 1 tbsp Runny honey 25 g Salted butter, melted and cooled to room-temperature 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, soaked in water 2 tsp Caraway seeds, soaked in water 1 tbsp Chopped fresh herbs 1 tbsp Chopped pistachio nuts Labneh with olive oil, to serve

In the bowl of your mixer, add flour, salt, and crushed fennel seeds. Put the warm water in a measuring jug and crumble in the fresh yeast and sugar. Set aside for a few minutes until starting to froth.
Pour the yeast mixture and olive oil into the flour. Mix on a slow speed until it starts to clump together, then increase the speed and knead it until it a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 6-8 minutes. Cover with a cling film and set aside in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
Beat the tahini and honey in a small mixing bowl until light and well-combined. Soak the sesame and caraway seeds together with water in a bowl. Melt the butter and cool to room-temperature.
Turn the dough out onto on a lightly floured work surface, then shape it with a rolling pin into a large rectangle, about 1cm thick.
Spread the tahini mixture over the surface of the bread, then roll up to enclose the filling inside a long sausage shape, making sure it’s an even thickness. Coil the dough into a spiral and tuck the end under the coil.
Transfer to a parchment lined baking tray. Brush all over with melted butter, drain the sesame and caraway seeds and scatter all over the surface of the dough. Cover with cling film and set aside to prove for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/430F. Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle shelf until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool, then serve scattered with the chopped herbs, pistachio nut and labneh.