American Soft Pretzels. YUM.
The longer I'm away from the States, the more I begin to miss little foodstuffs that you can't get over here.
I'm starting a list of things to feed my (Irish) boyfriend when we go to the States, because he's never been there.
One of said things, is soft pretzels. aaarrrggggmmmmhmhmmnm!!! soft pretzelss!!!!! miss them terribly. You can, of course, get pretzels in Germany, but they're not quite the same. Not fluffy enough, and besides, I'm almost never in Germany.
So I just looked up a recipe, and here it is:
HOT SOFT PRETZELS
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 pkg. dry yeast
4 c. flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tbsp. flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix flour, sugar, and salt. Beat egg slightly with one tablespoon of water.
With a large soft, work flour mixture into yeast mixture in a large bowl. With about 3 cups of the flour mixture worked in, begin to knead dough on pastry board or counter top. Continue mixing in remaining flour. Divide dough into 20-25 equal pieces. Roll with hands and shape into pretzel and place on greased cookie sheet. Brush tops with egg water, add salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.yaddayadda
My Question: What can I use in place of the egg in this recipe? I've seen the post-punk kitchen list of egg substitutes, but what would work for this recipe specifically? There is a recipe on vegweb for peanut butter pretzels, where the peanut butter holds it together in stead of the egg, but are they soft? The reviews weren't so terribly great and didn't mention whether they were soft or not.
aaarrrggggmmmmhmhmmnm!!! soft pretzelss!!!!!
First of all, ;D to the part I quoted. I made this weird laughing noise when I read that, but it was more of a guttural chuckle, combined with a snort.
Second, can you get Ener-G egg replacer in Amsterdam? If so, I would use that! I'm no expert, but I think it would have the right effect in the dough... Not too heavy like flax (my personal favorite egg replacer, but not for light, fluffy things), not naturally sweet like applesauce... I'd say go with that if you can! If not, I'll keep thinking. ;)
There is a recipe on vegweb for peanut butter pretzels, where the peanut butter holds it together in stead of the egg, but are they soft? The reviews weren't so terribly great and didn't mention whether they were soft or not.
they're not soft. i mean, granted, i made mine kinda small to fit a certain calorie #... but they weren't soft. not hard though, more chewy.
If you have soy flour, you can replace an egg with 1 Tb soy flour mixed with 1 Tb water. I always do that when I bake.
I don't know how to make the recipe you gave us vegan but I just want to throw in that the frozen soft pretzels we buy here are vegan, so it must be do-able.
are you actually mixing any of the egg into the batter or is it just the egg-water wash on top? it seems like you could just use a little water or oil on the tops instead maybe. ???
yeah, what propinecone said. it looks like there aren't actual eggs in them. and the glaze you can just leave off yeah?
amanda, you've got me craving a soft pretzel hard core right now. with some spicy mustard mmmmm.
are you actually mixing any of the egg into the batter or is it just the egg-water wash on top? it seems like you could just use a little water or oil on the tops instead maybe. ???
Oh, my gosh. Duh. I didn't even read the recipe when I suggested Ener-G... ::) Yeah, you could just brush the tops with a salt water mixture, maybe, or just skip it altogether; I think the egg wash would just make the tops a little shiny?? I wouldn't think that leaving it out should affect the taste.
oh my goodness, I'm so embarrassed. I didn't really read the recipe properly either! You just brush the egg on top!!!
EXCELLENT. That means the recipe is prectically vegan anyway.
niiiiiiiice. soft pretzels and mustard, here I come.
Thanks guys! Sorry I'm so oblivious sometimes!
Thanks for posting that recipe AmandaBrooke. I've been missing those too.
Melt a little earth balance & brush that on top instead. It will help them brown & give them some buttery goodness like Aunti Anne's pretzels