pretzels

Great GF Pretzels;Gotta Travel!

I buy gluten free pretzels at Giant and at Aldi’s.  Both are okay but a tad too crunchy and hard for my tastes but I crunch on as I sure miss pretzels. Did get some awesome milk chocolate covered gf pretzels at Aldi’s early this fall, keep looking for them….no luck. Not until my sisters went to Queen’s Nut Shoppe in Allentown did I find some really great gf pretzels.  They are small and in the traditional twisted shape. Made by Gratify Foods in Israel. Yeap, you got that right! Made overseas in the country of Israel, go figure. They are of course parve… About $4 for 14.1 ounces (400g): a good price for gluten free pretzels and called Sea Salt Twists. I live in eastern Pennsylvania, home to Utz Pretzels (my old pretzel love) and Philly pretzels as well as a few other tasty pretzel brands.  This is pretzel country! But, no one local (read Pennsylvania) makes a decent gf version, so…to get delicious gluten free ones; head to Queen’s Nut Shoppe (a health food store) in the eastern side of Allentown, not far off of Union Blvd. if you want to try these addictive little treats. My favorite way is to dip them in peanut butter; just a tiny dab. Ahh pretzel heaven is mine!

Update: the Wegmans on 248 near Nazareth has them too!pretzels

Soft GF Pretzel Success Story

Something I had missed desperately was soft pretzels.  Just not to be found gluten free, at least not in my geographic area.  Maybe some frozen ones out there but I haven’t come across them.  Plus you know me, I Love to bake and prefer homemade to a bought baked good. So when I saw a soft pretzel picture in an email from King Arthur Flour I knew I had to give them a try. pretzels 011

The dough was very easy to make, dump and mix.  pretzels 006I did only a half batch because there is just me to eat them and I didn’t want a huge bag of pretzels in my freezer.  Rolling them out was a bit tricky but very do-able.  I sprinkled the dough with more flour and soon my pretzels were ready for their baths!  Yes – you read that right.  Pretzels get a bath in a special combination; this one was boiling water with baking soda and sugar added.  You drop them in one at a time and they lay on the bottom of the pot for 2-3 seconds before slowly rising to the water’s surface. Once they reach the surface you can scoop them up.  I have a flat wide spoon covered with small holes which is just perfect for pretzel scooping.  They get firm and less fragile in that 5 second bath…just lay each on the baking sheet.  pretzels 007If you want them with salt, sprinkle it on. I happened to have some actual pretzel salt; fat white crystals. Just sprinkle and bake about 18 minutes.  pretzels 009If you want cinnamon sugar leave them naked and when they come out of the oven brush each pretzel with melted butter and then with cinnamon sugar.

The recipe can be found at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-soft-pretzels-recipe#

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The flavor and texture are great especially eaten as soon as they are cooled enough to handle.  Read pretty hot for me! I adored the cinnamon sugar and enjoyed the salted ones. If you want them soft, bake them the minimum time; check a minute early and pull then if they are to your liking.  pretzels 012

They do freeze well and when you warm them up in the microwave the pretzels are fairly close to how they were fresh.

Just do it: make them this weekend; you know you have been dreaming of a gluten free soft pretzel for years now……