Pretzels and Maple Rolls

Maple Rolls

For Rolls

2 ½ cups milk- warmed up in microwave, 45-60 seconds

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

2 tsp salt

2 eggs

4 TB yeast

7 cups flour, divided in half

Filling-

1 ½ sticks butter

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup nuts

1 tsp maple flavoring

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

Glaze-

 2 cup powdered sugar

2 TB milk

½ tsp maple or vanilla flavoring/extract

1.    Mix all ingredients for rolls except flour. Add in half of flour (3 ½ cups). Let set for 15 mins. Add 2^nd set of flour. Mix until smooth and creamy, for a few minutes. Will be a sticky dough. Let rise for 30 mins to 1 hour, until doubled in size.

2.    Heat oven to 325 degrees

3.    Melt butter for filling, mix with sugar, nuts, maple and cinnamon. Simmer on stove and keep at lowest temperature, or heat in microwave in glass bowl, for 1 minute at a time, mixing in between, until bubbly.

4.    Divide dough into 4 equal parts and grease 2 large 16 inch pans (rectangle or circular pans).

5.    Roll one part dough to pan size and place on pan. Cover with 1/2 of filling, then another rolled out dough

6.    Using pizza cutter, cut about 15 lines from edges to center. Twist each piece twice around and set down. Let rise 15-30 minutes or until puffed up.

7.    Bake at 20 minutes, frost with maple flavored glaze.

Great British Baking Show Pretzels- Plain and Orange Poppy Seed

Makes 12 medium sized pretzels. Easily doubled

·         For the dough

·         4 cups white or bread flour

·         2 tsp salt

·         2 tsp fast-action yeast

·         3 TB butter, softened

·         1 tbsp malt extract or 2 tsp molasses or 2 tsp brown sugar

·         1 ¼ cup milk

·         2 oranges, zest only

·         1 TB poppy seeds

·         oil, for greasing

·         2 TB bicarbonate of soda

To finish

• 3 TB rock salt
• 2 TB sesame seeds
• 3 oranges, juice of 3, zest of 1 cut into thin slithers
• ¼ cup sugar

Directions

1.     Add the flour, salt, yeast and butter to a bowl. In a jug, add the malt extract to the milk and stir to dissolve. Add the milk mixture gradually to the flour and mix until a dough is formed.

2.     Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead. The dough should be stiff but not sticky, and shouldn’t need any extra flour to knead. Continue for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and glossy.

3.     Divide the dough in half. To one half, add the zest of two oranges and the poppy seeds, and mix through, ensuring even distribution. Leave the other half plain. Place both doughs into separate oiled bowls, cover, and leave to prove until doubled in size (about 45 minutes- up to 2 hours).

4.     Preheat the oven to 400F.

5.     Once proved, turn both the doughs out and divide each one into six equal pieces. Using your hands, take each piece, and roll the dough into a long sausage shape, tapering the ends, and creating a slight bulge in the middle. Each piece should be about 40-50cm/16-20in in length. You may need to roll out each of the strands just part way at first, then rest them, allowing the glutens to relax, before continuing to roll them out to their full length. This can help to prevent the strands springing back and creating unevenly shaped pieces. As you roll out the ropes you should apply some pressure to the dough, working from the middle outwards, pushing out any air bubbles that may have formed in the dough.

6.     Shape into pretzels and press down lightly to seal, without misshaping the pretzel. Work quickly to shape all 12 pretzels.

7.     Add the bicarbonate of soda to a pan of boiling water, and gently drop each pretzel into the boiling water for approximately five seconds. Gently remove and place on a baking tray, keeping the different flavors separate. While the plain dough is still wet from the water, sprinkle over the salt and sesame seeds.

8.     Optional- With a sharp knife, make a deep slash into the thickest part of the dough.

9.     Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until they are a deep brown color.

10.   Meanwhile make the glaze for the sweet pretzels. Put the orange juice into a saucepan and add 100g/3½oz sugar. Add the zest, and bring up to the boil. Boil for one minute, then remove the zest using a slotted spoon and roll it in the remaining sugar. Continue to cook the syrup until reduced in volume and sticky. Pass through a fine sieve.

11.   Place the baked pretzels on a wire cooling rack, brush the sweet pretzels with the syrup glaze and sprinkle over the candied zest.