Memories in the Kitchen.

Thank you for the effort, I have tried and tried to get these things right. I am a good breadmaker but for some reason the pretzels just never work out properly. I dont like the egg wash on them, real pretzels in Germany have a wash of bicarb soda and boiling water. I have the taste right but not the texture. Thanks again.

Soft Pretzel Recipe *depending on size, will make 15 to 20* We've been making large ones. And come up with 16 to 18 pretzels.* *nonstick cooking oil for pan. We were out and used a butter wrap. We save our butter wrappers for greasing pans.* 1 1/3 cups warm water 1 package dry active yeast 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon table salt 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 large egg 1 tablespoon water 2 tablespoons coarse salt Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray the 2 baking sheets with the cooking oil. Or rub with butter wrapper. Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over the water and let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir until completely dissolved. Add sugar, table salt, and 1 cup of flour; stir until blended. Add 3 more cups of flour a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to blend after each addition. The dough should be well blended. Sprinkle some flour over a clean kitchen surface or board. Turn the dough onto the floured surface. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, sprinkling with flour if the dough is sticky. Roll 1 piece into a rope about 15 inches or any length you desire, depending on the size of the pretzel you want to make. Put the pretzel on a baking sheet and continue with the remaining dough. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of water. Beat together. Brush the egg wash over each pretzel using a pastry brush. But I find that if you dip the whole strand into the egg before twisting it, you get a better coating of golden brown over the entire pretzel. And, if you don't have a pastry brush, you can use a fork (But it's a real complication, and a pain) Sprinkle the coarse salt over the pretzels with your finger. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool on a baking rack, brown paper bag or newspaper, before serving.

Well, I'm sure that you could use this recipe, and omit the egg, and use the wash that you prefer. I've ran across many different forms of toppings you can smear onto them to get the golden brown effect. This is just the easiest (And Cheapest, which is important to me. lol) one that I've found.

Ow, I can see the tendrils of smoke coming out of your ears just by reading that. ^_^ As for the potato candy, it is sweet. But after looking at the inrediants, an entire pound of confectionary sugar- Are we surprised? It's definitely not something you can indulge in on a more frequent basis.

There are many different recipies that you can use. Some suggest using a certain amount of real potato smashed down, some say you can used mashed potatos (like the instant kind). But all of the ingrediants are potatos, and confectionary (however you spell that) sugar. And of course, the peanut butter that you spread on before you roll it up. If you dare to try it sometime, I'm sure you can find a good recipe online somewhere. But I warn you now, as my Mother (FINALLY) warned me. The first batch you try to make is always the hardest, and rarely comes out right. ^_^

How lucky of you, it's hard to have any secret stashes anywhere anymore. lol

My little brother does the exact same thing, I personally do not care for the taste at all. And my little brother has always had a strange sense of taste... He puts ketchup on his eggs, ecspecially scrambled eggs. THere was a time when he would only eat peanutbutter sandwhiches if they had a piece of cheese on it. Blachhhh!

I think if we ever try it again, we'll definitely have to try the instant mashed potato recipe that we found.