Vyborg Pretzels (Eggless version)

Blogging Marathon# 33: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: BM# 32 Bookmarked Recipes
Dish: Vyborg Pretzels by Chef Mireille

I am revisting my fellow bloggers posts from the A-Z Alphabet marathon for this week of BM# 33. Like I said yesterday it has been tough finalizing this week's 3 dishes. I still have no idea what to make for tomorrow from the very long list of short listed dishes. I've to check my pantry and the fridge to see what can be made with th time I have. I wish I can try all the recipes, but alas I can't.

So for Day 2, I made Chef Mireille's Vyborg Pretzels. These pretzels are popular in the city of Vyborg, which was previously part of Finland. These pretzels caught my eye the minute I saw them. I've been planning to make pretzels for quite some time now and when I saw these I knew this was going to be my very first pretzel recipe to try. I wasn't disappointed. This recipe makes 4 huge challah bread style pretzels that are soft, slightly sweet and super flavorful from the addtion of saffron and cardamom.

Changes I made were, use egg-replacer in place of eggs, brush with heavy cream in place of egg yolk-milk mixture and sprinkle some turbonado sugar on top for some extra sweetness and crunch. My pretzel shape did not turn out as professional as Mir's, but they tasted amazing especially when eaten warm. They stay fresh when wrapped well and stored at room temperature for couple of days.

Ingredients:

Milk - ¾cup (I used unsweetened soy milk)

Butter - 7tbsp, softened

Sugar - ½+2tbsp

Ground cardamom - 1tsp

Ground nutmeg - ½tsp

Saffron strands - 1tsp

Salt - ½tsp

Yeast - 1 pkg. 2¼tsp

Warm water - 4tbsp

Egg replacer - 2tbsp whisked in 6tbsp water (or 2 eggs)

Bread flour - 3~3¾cups
Heavy Cream - 3~4tbsp
Turbinado Sugar - 3tbsp (optional)

Method:

• Combine milk, butter, cardamom, saffron and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Heat on low flame until the butter melts. Let cool to 115 - 120°F.
• Add 2tbsp sugar and yeast to warm water and set aside to foam.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine 1cup bread flour, salt, ½cup sugar and mix well. Add the milk mixture, yeast and egg replacer mixture. Mix well.
• Add the remaining flour, ½cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until the dough is no longer sticky and can be kneaded.
• Knead for 10 minutes by hand or 5~6 minutes in the stand mixer, until smooth and elastic dough forms. Remove into a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled for about 1 hour.
• Gently deflate the dough and knead some more. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Form into a ball and roll each ball into a 12" long roll.
• Shape into a ipside down 'U', bring the ends together and twist them to seal. Bring this to the top of the loop to form the standard pretzel shape. Press to seal.
• Place them on a baking sheet, cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size..
• At the end of 1 hour, preheat the oven to 375°F. 
• Brush the tops of the pretzels with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar (if using).
• Bake the pretzels for 15-20 minutes until golden. Let cool.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 33.