Hands in Dough

Ok, this isn't so much a 'cover' as it is perhaps a faithful rendition of an old standard. And I think it also fits into our theme as I did nick the recipe from beloved bread master, Ciril Hitz.

The thing is, every few months I feel the sudden urge to get my hands into some dough, to feel this living, breathing mass that we don't really 'make', but rather we enable nature to just do it's thing. It was with bread that my passion for cooking formed, as well as my curiosity with how food fundamentally works. The smell of yeast, the feel of flour on my hands- they instantly take me back to those days over 15 years ago.

    

 

I built quite a repertoire as I filled the cases of the bakery I worked in. Perhaps my favorites were bagels and soft pretzels. The whole process and ritual intrigued me as much as the results. On a slow day recently (rare indeed) we decided to make our own, just for the  hell of it. Simon made the dough a day ahead and I set about hand rolling. Awkward at first, after a few mis-shapen rings the physical memory of the hands started to come back. After a quick boil in a honey syrup, I still can't get over the fact that these ugly wrinkly blobs will transform into a smooth glossy finish in the oven.

 

 
 

We cheated and used the same dough for a round of pretzels. The only difference came in the boil, to which we added baking soda (in place of the traditional lye). Incidentally, this is a great way to teach the Maillard reaction, and how an increase in pH accelerates the browning and kicks up the flavor- that ineffable 'pretzle-y' flavor.

   

 
 

 

And yes, ladies, our resident bagel model, Jesus, is available.

Comments

[Cesar vega]

The other day I made french onion soup and it occurred to me to either raise the pH and add a few grams of skim milk powder to promote browing without 'mushing' the onions (which i like)...Any experiences in this realm?

[Michael Laiskonis]

Cesar,

While we've been known to boost the milk solid content of items that already contain them (brown butter, for example), it never occured to me to add them elsewhere, as you suggest.

As for an increase in pH, I recall an early realization years ago on its effect in cajeta- reduced goat's milk and sugar. So too does baking soda have an effect not only on color/flavor, but also texture, as in traditional honeycomb candy: http://bit.ly/cKA9Vm.

All this reminds me of a great post by Martin Lersch on the Maillard reaction: http://bit.ly/4SBVR1.

And as it pertains to bread doughs in particular, I'd love to learn more of the role diastatic malt (used in our bagel recipe) plays in converting starches to sugars and its ultimate effect on flavor and browning, if any.

It's exciting when one answer just leads to more questions!

[David]

My understanding of pretzel-making was that the high PH solution did something to the starches on the exterior of the dough, leading to a more chewy and delicious product, and that the Maillard browning was an added bonus.

Is this correct?

[chad]

It would be really cool of Simon if he posted the recipe for the dough... those look incredible.
Funny how associations work. After reading the post and the comments, I immediately thought of French onion soup with a cheese pretzel instead of the traditional garnish. That would be nice... even boiled in honey water.
Looking very forward to working with you this weekend, Chef.

[chris ford]

Great post. Been working on soft pretzels for about 3 days now and then read this post. Flavor is great but not getting a nice smooth finish on the surface...hmm...Any suggestions?

[abe]

Would love to read a post about pastry books so we can share some of our favourites..

[adey]

...Michael any chance of a recipe?