SOFT PRETZELS - perfect for any oktoberfest gatherings, go very nicely with beer! originally from a recipe on allrecipes.com, with my own notes makes 12 pretzels 4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 5 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup baking soda 4 cups hot water 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping proof the yeast by dissolving it with 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. in a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt. make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. mix and form into a dough (my girls and i add more water if we feel we need to-- the pretzel dough doesn't seem to suffer too much). knead the dough until smooth and then place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat with oil. cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (in a warm kitchen, it takes about an hour). preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). in a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water. after the rise, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel knot. once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. sprinkle with kosher salt. bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned. we also brush them with butter after the bake and sprinkle again with salt, or with a sugar-cinnamon mixture (hello, mall pretzels, these pretzels kick your mall a**es!). these pretzels, by the way, are *delicious*-- especially right out of the oven. they tend to get chewier and less awesome by the next day, so if you're making a bunch for a party or gathering of some kind, you can make the dough a day ahead, shape it into knots-- AND THEN REFRIGERATE OR FREEZE to halt the rise. we left them out overnight on accident once and ended up with pretzels that were more like dinner rolls. delicious, but not exactly pretzelish!

yeah, allrecipes is great, especially if you just quickly want to modify the size of the batch of a given recipe. my other go-to site is cooksillustrated.com - you have to pay for full-access, but it's worth it if you cook lots and enjoy learning about WHY a great recipe is so great!

joni, they have a 14-day free trial membership over there if you do want to check them out! you get access to 14 years of recipes, articles & equipment tests. the articles are really great. fascinating, even.

Pumpking Grudgematch 1 c. all-purpose flour 1/3 cup cocoa 1 t baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1 tbs mixed homemade pumpkin pie spice Sift above ingredients together 2 large eggs 1/2 cup turbinado sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 3/4 c. vegetable oil (such as canola) 1 Tbs. vanilla extract Whisk liquid ingredients together 1 1/2 cups baked and pureed pumpkin, drained 1/2 c. walnuts, 1/2 c. chocolate chips Place in a bowl. Make a well. Add combined liquid ingredients. Gently fold to barely moisten all of the dry ingredients. Fold in tenderizers (zucch, nuts, chips). Pan up in a greased and floured 9" tube pan, 9" round or 9" square. A loaf could be used too, but baking time will lengthen. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45-50 minutes.

YUMMY. I often just get the bread to the stage where it is yeast and water and flour to pancake batter consistency, then I let it sit there for an hour (this is the "sponge" stage). Then I will add whatever grains I want (often a mix of rolled oats and oat groats cooked together with butter and brown sugar or maple syrup) and whole wheat flour until it is ready to knead and set to rise... but really, you can play with this a good deal. Other favorite grains/sugars/flavors - millet and honey - sunflower seeds - cooked potatoes - molasses and oatmeal - wheat germ - other things hiding in the pantry I also love this book: http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/King-Arthur-Flour-Whole-Grain-Baking/2033467/product.html?cid=123620&fp=F&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=10333643-000-000 One thing they suggest is to use orange juice as part of your liquid if you are using a lot of whole wheat, which I agree with. Also: Try "white wheat". Usually the whole wheat flour we buy is red wheat, which has that nutty deep flavor to it (which I love, but others don't). You can buy whole white wheat flour, which has the same protein and fiber benefits of whole grains, but a more "white bread" taste. Your DH and the kids might like that.

I think the orange juice is mainly a taste thing, but I also think it also makes it a little more tender. Cooking the oats or groats or both, just gives them a different texture. Cooked rolled oats will sort of disappear into the dough and make the whole thing chewier. Cooked groats are soft and nutty. I grew up in one of those whole wheat natural peanut butter households... until my mother went all crazy lo-fat in the early 90s and then there was a lot of processed lo-fat cr*p in the house. BUH. That was a bad period. Who knows what my own eventual kids and their peers will do with my food. Probably refuse to eat it. Oh well. Also, I find that when I make good bread, after the initial "it just came out of the oven and is so amazing" 2-3 slice over-indulge, I actually eat less of it because it is actually filling.

I recently went to Great Harvest and found out what DH was paying per loaf of bread and decided to start baking again. He loves their pumpkin chocolate chip bread and was going through a loaf a week. Friday I made this, and he says it is better than the Great Harvest Bread. Pumpkin-Walnut Bread (with chocolate chips added) - makes 2 medium loaves 1-3/4 c fresh or canned cooked pumpkin 1-1/2 c brown sugar 1/2 c butter, room temperature 3 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten 4 c flour (approximately) 2 T baking powder 1 t ground cinnamon 1/2 t salt 1/2 t grated nutmeg 2 c chopped walnuts 1 or 2 c chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350. Blend together the pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, eggs. Mix in the baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Spoon 3 c of flour in and mix thoroughly. Stir in the walnuts. Add more flour if necessary to make a firm batter. Spoon into greased pans, pressing into the corners. Bake until loaf tests done - about 1 hour. Original recipe says this improves if allowed to age several days before slicing. We haven't tried that out yet.

This is one I have been working on for a few weeks. It originally called for rolled oats but I substituted for steel cut and had to adjust the liquid to get the right amount. You can adjust the ratio of whole wheat flour to bread flour but you may need to add some gluten when you use more whole wheat. I'm still new to this so feel free to make any suggestions. Maple Oatmeal Bread 3/4 cups water 3/4 cups Steel Cut Oats cooked 2 tablespoons butter, soft 3 tablespoons maple syrup 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 cup whole wheat flower 3 cups bread flower 2 teaspoons rapid rising or active dry yeast Heat the water until warm, between 105° and 115°F; pour it into a large warmed bowl, and add the yeast. Let stand 5 minutes, until the yeast begins to bubble. Stir in the butter, syrup, salt, and whole wheat flour. Beat until a smooth batter forms. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Slowly add the bread flour and mix until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured board, and knead, adding flour if necessary, until smooth and springy, about 5 minutes. Wash the bowl and grease it; place the dough back in the bowl and turn it over to grease the top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Punch the dough down and shape it into an oblong or round loaf. Place the loaf with the smooth side up into the pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about an hour. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the loaf is golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the loaf comes out clean and dry. Brush the top with melted butter if desired. Remove from the pan and cool on wire rack.