Nothing has been sadder on this gluten free journey than discovering even Snyder of Hanover can't make a decent gluten free pretzel. I love their honey mustard real pretzels but the gluten free version is basically crunchy, tasteless potato starch. There is no bite, no flavor, no depth. Just a brief crunch and the flavored coating doesn't stick to the surface. I've made soft pretzels and bagels, both wheat and gluten free, but never thought to make a hard pretzel, could it even be done? I found a promising looking wheat recipe but nothing real great in the gluten free department, so I thought I'd try modifying the wheat recipe and see what happened. It works! These aren't going to be Snyder of Hanover Pretzels, rather you get a nice crusty shell and a chewy interior, think of a good French baguette crossed with a soft pretzel but a little more crunchy and without the bready interior. Feel free to add salt to the outside, I can't ever keep it on so I just put it inside, if you salt them, decrease the recipe salt to 1/2 tsp. Feel free to substitute flour for flour and starch for starch but not flour for starch.
1 1/4 c oat flour
3/4c corn flour
1/2c brown rice flour
1/2c tapioca starch
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp xanthin gum
4 tbsp psyllium husk
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 egg white (save the yolk for the egg wash)
1 1/2 cups hot water
Whisk together the dry ingredients then mix in the wet with a high power mixer or a danish dough whisk. Cover and let rise in a warm, moist place for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, bake 1/2 cup baking soda at 250 degrees for one hour. Once the dough has risen, divide into 24 balls and roll into thin, long ropes (1/2 inch by 6 inches or so) and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for 1/2 hour. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425 degrees and bring a large pot containing 8 cups of water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and the baked baking soda to a boil. Drop 4-6 pretzels in the boiling water for 20 seconds and then remove to a greased baking sheet, repeat with remaining pretzels. Brush each boiled pretzel with egg wash (egg yolk plus a tablespoon of water). Salt or top as desired. I used two large cookie sheets with 12 pretzels each and rotated them top and bottom during the baking process, don't crowd the pretzels on the pans. You also want to flip each pretzel halfway through baking as well. Once you place the pans in the oven, reduce the temperature to 325 and bake for 45 minutes plus or minus 20 or so, rotating as necessary. You want them to be hard on the outside, not squishy, and they will be darker than wheat pretzels thanks to the psyllium husk. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving and freeze any extras.
Update: They are pretty good fresh, chewy, slightly crunchy, but still reminiscent of a soft pretzel. I really wasn't excited to eat the thawed ones, so thought I'd try getting a real hard pretzel by 'twice baking' them. To get a true 'hard' pretzel you'll want to treat them like homemade croutons: cut them into 1 inch lengths, mix with desired flavoring, and either bake on a cookie sheet at 325 or I used my ninja foodi with the crisping plate on bake/roast at 325 for about 15 minutes for a single layer batch (the whole batch of pretzels took 3 batches in the foodi), stirring occasionally and cooling on a wire rack. I wanted a honey mustard pretzel so I mixed a couple tablespoons yellow and dijon mustard with a couple table spoons brown sugar, a little salt, and garlic pepper and a couple tablespoons of canola oil. I mixed each foodi batch with the mixture, stirred to coat and cooked them in the foodi. You get excellent flavor, great chew, and a nice crunch! Feel free to try barbecue, salsa, cheese, ranch, terriyaki or whatever your heart desires or just a little oil and salt. These totally blow Snyder of Hanover Gluten Free pretzels out of the water, they are real pretzels not just potato starch!
No comments:
Post a Comment