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Well hello again. It's been a while. For me – after all the crazy busy of November and December – January is
a month of calm. It's a month for doing these kinds of things: reading (so far,
in the past few weeks, I've read this, this and this)and cooking and knitting (right now, this pattern with this yarn in the prettiest silver bought from this yarn shop in PDX) and just being. I love it; it's just what I need.
I've been wanting to make pretzel rolls for the longest time – ever since I had them from Little T Bakery and also made into croutons at Gruner. Last month I was in San Francisco and Wayne, Heidi and I stopped in at Bi-Rite one evening and I got a pretty fine pretzel, topped with pumpkin seeds. It's safe to say that pretzels, in one form or another, have been on my mind for some time now.
Today I found myself with a nice bit of
free time in the afternoon and so I made them. And, I'm happy to report that they are
easy to make, easier to eat. Here's how:
Pretzel Rolls
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp active dryyeast
Combine the water, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture foams.
4-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 ounces melted unsalted butter
Add flour and melted butter to the mixer bowl. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until combined. Change to medium speed and mix approximately 4 or 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and satiny.
Oil a large bowl (I used grapeseed oil) and transfer the dough to it. Turn once to coat and then cover with a clean dishtowel (not terry cloth as this will stick). Let sit in a warm place til it has doubled in size. This take 45-60 minutes. I use the bread proofing setting in the warmer drawer of our oven, but you can also just put it in a warm place, like on the stove top.
Bring 10 cups of water and 2/3 cups of baking soda to a rolling boil in a wide pot.
Preheat your oven to 450, with the racks set in the middle.
Meanwhile, turn out the dough and divide into 16 equal pieces. I found that I didn't need to oil or flour the work surface; the dough is very pliable and didn't stick or break at all. I enlisted the help of my 5th grade friend, Sophie, who is the older sister of Liam's best friend, Sadie. I thought Liam and Sadie would like to help, but they were more interested in racing slot cars. Anyway, neither Sophie or I were able to get the hang of actual pretzel shapes so we just made knots. (You could also just roll little balls of dough and then cut an 'x' shape on their tops after the poaching step.) Place the shapes on parchment lined baking sheets. I brushed the parchment with a little grapeseed oil just to be sure they wouldn't stick.
Place the pretzels in the boiling water – I put 4 in at a time – for 30-45 seconds, turning over or pressing down gently to submerge. Remove with slotted spoon back to the parchment lined baking sheets. When all the rolls have been poached, brush the tops with the egg wash (1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp water). Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating pans half way through – top to bottom, front to back, til the pretzel rolls are a dark golden brown. Let cool at least 5 minutes – this seems to let the crust develop that chewiness that is so good! We ate ours, still warm, with a generous amount of unsalted butter.
These are SO easy and I have a feeling they'll be in heavy rotation around here. I already plan to experiment with this basic recipe, perhaps swapping out some of the water in the dough with beer or buttermilk for extra flavor, different flour combinations and various toppings (coarse ground pepper, aleppo, grated cheese, pumpkin seeds, etc).
One last thing to note – don't store these in an airtight container because the salt will cause them to get soggy and weird. Either have a pretzel eating frenzy, invite some friends over, give the extras to a neighbor or store them in a paper bag.
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I almost forgot to mention that I wrote a short little piece for Volume 2 of Kinfolk. It's called Morning Hours and I'm honored to have a small part in such a truly lovely publication. It's available in print or for iPad.
Liam's Robot Tees
are here – and they are just the best. I couldn't be happier with the
way these came out. They're printed with silver ink on galaxy
blue, perfect for girls and boys. They're really great gifts – organic
cotton, made here is the US by American Apparel, silk-screened locally,
artwork by Liam.
All
the sales from these tees go toward Liam's Special Needs Trust which we
are lucky to have, but need to replenish because, truth be told, the
medical expenses are vast and never-ending, even in healthy years.
In advance, a million thanks.
Last week I bought the most beautiful constellation calendar from Little Bright Studio. It's silk-screened, silver ink on dark indigo blue paper – just lovely. A flurry of emails followed between Amy Nieto and I – and just like that, a simple and stunning collaboration.
It's a 7 x
11 print, on dark charcoal gray paper with gold ink. To make the
metallic ink really shine, I underprint with two layers of opaque white
followed by two layers of gold. (I printed these cards for Shanna Murray over the summer with the same technique – labor intensive for sure, but so amazing.) I'll be bringing the constellation prints to Sunday Best this Friday and Saturday or you can order them from my online shop right here.
Don't forget – tomorrow is the last day to use the 25% discount (code EQCCWN) in the shop. You can use that for everything but custom orders and Liam's Robot Tees. And also because of my holiday schedule, the shop will close on December 13th – not so far off!
Liam has the whole week of school off for the first time. I actually love this as the past two years, when he was in kindergarten and then first grade, he's only had Thursday and Friday off which has made Thanksgiving such a whirlwind. I wish that I wasn't so busy right now, but I am (the before and after school sale, and the 3 big holiday sales in Portland and San Francisco).
We have a house full of friends arriving for Thanksgiving in a few days. I think the final count is 17 adults and 6 kids, not including Ben and Liam and I. And so I'm trying to get a lot done – because starting Wednesday afternoon through Friday night, I'm on vacation, right here at home.
Of course, we left off cleaning the basement til this weekend. It's not like this task has snuck up on us; it's just gotten pushed to the wayside again and again. But I am happy to report that it is spic and span down there now – and much of the reason why we were able to do this is that reading just clicked with Liam on Saturday. Now, he has been a good reader, well above average for sure, for some time. We read to him every day, and he reads out loud most days. On Saturday, though, Ben set him up in his stander in the basement with the first Harry Potter book (which he's had read to him before). And he read. And read. And read. Not out loud, just to himself. From Saturday to this morning, he read 118 pages. All by himself. And I think that is wonderful.
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Thanksgiving Menu
dry brined turkey (a la Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken, my favorite, from this local farm)stuffing with celery, sage and chestnuts
mashed yukon gold potatoes
seared brussels with lemon and cream
swiss chard gratin with buttery bread crumb topping
raddichio salad with parmesan, anchovy olives, baguette toasts and lemon-olive oil dressing
gravy
That's what I'm making. Others are bringing snacks, a ham, cranberry sauce, green salad, pumpkin pie. Can you tell I have a hard time not cooking EVERYTHING all by myself?
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I really want to make and eat these. I meant to make them over the weekend, but didn't have time. Maybe tomorrow, as a pre-Thanksgiving treat. Liam will love them. We are serious about our pumpkin pie around here. (For me, it's all about the pumpkin pie – no other kind – and the stuffing and gravy.) Liam asked me a few weeks ago when I was on a pumpkin pie making binge whether I could make just the filling. He called it a pot de pumpkin.
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I'm having such a hard time remembering that it's already pretty much the end of November! I don't know for sure yet, but my online shop is probably going to need to close a little earlier than usual this year because I'll be leaving for San Francisco on December 15th and not returning til the 18th. I don't know that I will have time to ship again when I return – nor will I know what sort of inventory will be left. I'll make a decision soon and let you know.
Oh boy, I have busy weeks ahead of me! Here's the list of places you can find me during December. Click on the images for more information.
I'm also doing a little before-and-after school sale at Liam's school on November 30th and December 1st, if you're local. Same as last year, 25% of the sales from that will be donated to the arts program at his school!
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I had an idea for Mailbox Monthly that I hope I can put together just for the shows. I thought it would be fun to be able to buy a gift subscription but be able to walk away with something to actually give or send in time for the holidays. So what about if for $5 extra, you can pick any single card you like, plus I'll fill out the membership card to tuck in with it?
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And, also – a quick note that Liam's robot tee shirts are on their way! I chose American Apparel because they have an organic line. These only come with short sleeves – but I still consider them good year round since they can be layered over long sleeves, right? Right. I picked the best color – galaxy blue, a deep teal/peacock – and the robot will printed in silver. I think it is perfect for both girls and boys. I'll have them online and at the Portland and San Francisco shows! Remember, all sales go toward Liam's Special Needs Trust ♥
It's 11.11.11 today! All weekend long, use the code 3ELEVENS for 33% off your order in the shop. No custom or calling card orders or mailbox monthly, but everything else ...
I'm happy to let you know that I've started Mailbox Monthly again! I've changed it up a little bit, but here's the deal – during the second week of each month, subscribers will receive an assortment of 5 letterpress cards. It'll be different each month – sometimes brand new designs, sometimes tried and true ones. It's the perfect gift for yourself or for anyone who loves letterpress, plus an encouragement to write letters! The return of Mailbox Monthly is just in time for all the winter holidays. Check out details right here.
