Ginger Bread: What Just Happened....

I have no idea how they do it.

I followed the recipe exactly... something you really need to do when baking...

The yeast was doing it's yeasty thing... the water was the right temperature...

The dough rose out on the porch just like it always does...

I kneaded it, and cut it into 8 pieces... I guess these pretzels were supposed to be Yao Ming sized...

I mean, does that look anything like a pretzel??? It looks more like a twisted dinner roll...

So, I tried again... and again... and again... but that pretzel shape got the best of me... You're supposed to put a "heaping" tablespoon of baking soda in the water before you parboil the pretzels to help them rise. Well I did that, and they rose alright.

They were super puffed. I have been wanting to try this for awhile now.. it seemed so simple. Yeast, flour, and sugar. That's it. Deceptively simple...

I forgot the egg wash on the first batch... oh well. Btw, what's up with recipes that call for 1 and 1/2 eggs? How am I supposed to swing that... I had one recently that asked for 1 and 3/4 eggs... say what? I usually just round up....

I remembered it for the second batch... Which though huge, turned out really good!

I didn't have any pretzel salt... but I did have montreal steak seasoning. So good, and made for great seasoning on these savory pretzel rolls. Mustard also made for good dipping sauce.