Chaotic Kitchen Escape

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The Flat Pretzel Disaster

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It was my turn to demonstrate how to make the perfect homemade pretzels to my Culinary students. I prepared and baked my pretzels. They were FLAT as a pancake. What could have happened??

Look at the note on the oven

I need help figuring out why my pretzels did not raise. How embarrassing for me! Please help me figure it out.

Work together to figure out each question

Answer each question correctly to unlock the next question

Read through all the recipe components carefully

Directions

Pretzel dough2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast, 1 standard packet 1 cup warm water 1 tbs unsalted butter, melted 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 3 cups all-purpose flour + up to ¾ cup more if needed Baking Soda Bath 5 cups water 2 tbs baking soda Topping- Optional 1 tbs coarse salt, for sprinkling on top 6 tbs salted butter, melted

Recipe - Ingredients

Oven Preheat oven to 475°F and line a large baking sheet or two baking sheets with parchment paper.Dough Preparation Combine yeast with warm water and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with hook attachment. Once mixture becomes "frothy" your yeast is ready. Approximately 5 minutes. Add flour 1 cup at a time and knead on a low setting until a dough ball forms and is no longer very sticky. You may need more or less depending on temperature differences. If you press your finger into the dough and it bounces back, it's ready to knead. Approximately 5 minutes. Dough should be smooth and pliable. Dough Rising Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Recipe - Instructions Part 1 of 2

Shaping and Boiling Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and shape it into a pretzel. Bring 5 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil in a large pot. Boil each pretzel for 1 minute, then place on the prepared baking sheets. You may have to re-shape your pretzel slightly. Baking and Finishing Brush each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 -9 minutes, or until golden brown. These homemade soft pretzels are best served hot and fresh out of the oven but will keep for about 2 days stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Pop them in the microwave and they're good as new!

Recipe - Instruction Part 2 of 2

Water

Sugar

Salt

Yeast

Continue

solution

D. hydrates the flour, allowing gluten to form and providing the medium for the yeast to ferment.

C. regulates yeast activity, preventing the dough from rising too quickly

B. ferments the sugars in the dough, producing carbon dioxide gas. This gas gets trapped in the dough, causing it to rise

A. Acts as a food source which helps it grow and produce carbon dioxide more quickly

Match ingredients with their roles in dough rising

90-100° F

105-115°F

75-85° F

120-130° F

What is the ideal water temperature for activating yeast?

Per the recipe, drag the ingredients to activate yeast correctly in the correct order.

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Solution

D. Flour

C. Water

B. Salt

A. Sugar

Not kneading the dough enough

Adding too much baking soda

Used wax paper instead of parchment paper

Did not beat the egg long enough

What is a common mistake that prevents dough from rising?

The dough was divided

Added the salt with the flour

The room was too cold

I covered it

The dough was left to rise for 2 hours but did not rise at all. The yeast was not expired, and the water temperature was correct. What is wrong?

Let's take a look now at how I made the pretzels. What did I do wrong?

What did I do wrong?

Which yeast is expired? I used the one on the left side

Added egg to the yeast

Added the salt to the flour

Added the sugar to the yeast and flour

Added water to the yeast

What did I do wrong to end up with a flat pretzel?

Which photo is correct? I did the one on the left.

I kneaded the dough for 20 minutes. Was this the correct amount of time?

Gosh No

Absolutely

It came time to divide the dough. It had risen, so I punched it down. Was that correct to do?

You figured out what I did wrong!! YAY!!

Congrats!

starT over?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit.

Wrong!

4 - B

3 - D

2 - A

1 - C

4 - C

3 - D

2 - A

1 - B