Rosemary Garlic Salted Amish Dinner Rolls

I wanted to make rolls to serve with a roast chicken dinner and was having trouble finding a recipe that didn't have milk as an ingredient (I was out!)

This recipe, described as an Amish bread recipe worked with what I had at home. I topped the rolls with rosemary butter before baking and brushed the tops with garlic butter before serving.

This recipe yields 2 loaves of bread or about 16-20 rolls depending how large you make them!

Good Eats Soft Pretzels

This is a recipe for pretzels I first saw on Good Eats it may seem labour intensive...I mean, a fifteen minute drive to the mall yields a hot fresh pretzel as well..but hey, it's raining...and where's the fun in that!?

Historically, pretzels were immersed in a bath of water and lye and there are several recipes on line tha still call for a lye bath in the process of pretzel making.  Here, the lye bath is replaced a safer and easier baking soda boil and this step cannot be skipped.  The boiling process is what gives pretzels their distinctive chewy texture and crust.

Also, the Good Eats recipe linked calls for pretzel salt.  I could not find any where I live, and have to admit, did not look very hard, I used coarse salt in its place with excellent results on the fresh pretzels.

The pretzels are best hot and fresh as the salt has a tendency to dissolve in storage in a container (perhaps the pretzel salt doesn't do this!)- but if you are not salting them, you may have better luck with storing them.  These also freeze well and reheat in the oven or microwave for a hot, fresh pretzel whenever the craving hits.

Challah Rolls

Challah is a traditional Jewish holiday bread.  It is my understanding long braided loaves are baked for the Sabbath and are eaten then and throughout the year, round loaves of the same bread are baked for the New Year.  I used the same recipe used for these loaves and made rolls instead, however, if you wish, form your dough into a beautiful braided loaf!