This simple bread recipe can make four soft pretzels, eight breadsticks,
two big bagels, six dinner rolls, six 6" diameter pita (baked) or
flatbread (fried), or two 12" pizzas, all made from the same dough. The
recipe was adapted from Alton Brown's Good Eats pretzel show, transcript
at http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Seaso...tzel_tran.html

2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar until fragrant
11 oz (2 1/4 cup sifted, maybe 1 1/2 cup unsifted) bread flour
(I use Bob's Red Mill unbleached white flour, which I recommend)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp kosher salt or 1/2 tsp table salt

The dough--proof 2 tsp active dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tsp
sugar until fragrant. Add 11 oz (2 1/4 cup sifted, maybe 1 1/2 cup
unsifted)
bread flour (I use Bob's Red Mill unbleached white flour, which I
recommend). Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1/4 cup warm water with 1 tsp kosher
salt or 1/2 tsp table salt dissolved. Stir until combined then turn out
and knead about 5 minutes by hand until window pane forms. (Window
pane--pinch a small ball of dough, flatten, then stretch gently without
breaking to translucence when held up to a light.) Dough should be very
smooth but not wet and sticky, add more flour if it is. If the air is dry,
you may need a teaspoon more water--just wet your hands and continue
kneading. Place in plastic covered bowl (to prevent drying) in oven with
light on and let rise until doubled, about one hour. Remove from bowl and
divide into 2, 4, 6, or 8 pieces.

4 Pretzels or 8 breadsticks--roll with your hands into a thin strand 12"
to 16" long. Make a pretzel shape by forming a U, then bring one arm down
and cross a little to the other side of the bottom of the U. Then bring
the other arm down across the first and across a little to the other side
of the bottom. (For breadsticks, just cut each into two 6" straight
lengths.) Boil for 30 seconds or so in a 1:15 baking soda solution (1/3 c
baking soda to 5 cup water). Place on baking tray and sprinkle with kosher
salt. Bake 10-12 minutes at 425 F but watch the last couple of minutes.

2 Bagels--I've made some quite decent cinnamon raisin bagels with this
recipe. Add them before kneading the dough, maybe with a little brown
sugar or molasses or ginger. After rising, divide the dough into two
balls, flatten them with your hand, poke a finger through their centers
and twirl them around to form a smooth hole. Then boil and bake as above,
possibly with a little extra cooking time, but not too brown.

6 Dinner rolls--roll each piece into a ball between your hands, then
flatten slightly. Lightly cut an X (or any other pattern such as a square
or triangle) all across the top. Boil and bake as above, sprinkling a
little kosher salt after boiling. You can bake without boiling, but it
will be a dull. You can also add herbs or garlic before kneading, but try
the plain version first. This is a satisfying, heavy roll.

6 Pitas--roll with a pin into thin 6" circles. Bake 10-12 minutes at 425 F
but watch the last couple of minutes. Baking creates the steam to form a
pocket which frying does not. Cool but store in a plastic bag to prevent
drying out.

6 Flatbreads--roll with a pin into thin 6" circles. Fry or saute them in a
pan on medium high with about 1 Tbsp of fat. Olive oil is nice, but I
prefer shortening (the zero trans fat kind). 2-3 minutes on the first side
will leave them light to dark brown--feel free to peek--then flip and
sprinkle with kosher salt. There's less oil in the pan and a bubbly
surface, so the other side will tend to char slightly, but that will
add to the taste. 1-2 minutes should cook it through. Eat warm or cool and
let dry before packaging, since the bread contains a lot of moisture. This
is my favorite.

2 Pizzas--have ready and cooked or warm all sauce, toppings and cheese,
then roll the two pieces into thin 12" circles. Cook as for flatbread,
browning the first side well to seal and prevent sogginess, but after
flipping, quickly put on all toppings, careful not to spill any into the
pan. After bottom is done, place under broiler until cheese melts. Slide
onto cutting board and slice with your longest knife.

Comments on pizza: this yields a fairly thin crust, but with chewy edges.
To increase the thickness, use more dough or roll into smaller 8" circles
but fry it longer at slightly lower heat. A disadvantage of this method is
that since the crust is cooked, the toppings won't stick to the crust as
well as usual. It's more a knife and fork than a finger pizza. I have
tried simply baking rather than frying this pie, but the results are a bit
soggy and not as flavorful or chewy, since browning and even a bit of
charring brings a lot of flavor.


--
Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia D. Hill at .
Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting.
Please allow several days for your submission to appear.
Archives: http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/