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The Measure
Saturday, March 8 at 3:00 PM
What an amazing day. I don't know what brought me more joy....seeing friends dive into making homemade soft pretzels or the incredible discussion. Wait...I have to say it was pulling the strings.....read on.
The Strings
Our Version
For those who have not read the book, the strings represent the duration of one's life. So B&B member, Teri Ditslear, made this cool box with strings of varied lengths. Members did not know the length of their chosen string until they pulled it out. Rule: if you touch it, it is yours! It isn't exactly how strings were distributed in the novel but for our group, it was perfect! Teri, thank you for making this session extra special!
To Pull...
Not everyone chose to pull a string, just as in the book, not everyone chose to open their box. It is a personal choice. Later in the evening my husband asked what all of the cheering was about...apparently we made quite a ruckus when someone pulled a long string.
...Or Not To Pull
Out of the 17 book and bakers present that day, only two or three chose to not pull a string. We all have our own reasons for either wanting to know when we die or not knowing. Ultimately, we felt it was the quality of life that was most important.
Book & Bake Bliss
As good as it gets....
We were packed in a bit tightly but I would not have it any other way. We had amazing discussion kicked off by pulling strings from the box Teri made - it was the perfect gateway. Our discussion document is available at the bottom of this page for those interested. We shared thoughts about the rich characters, our favorite story line (there were a few that eventually merged) and of course, the "what would you do?" question. Fate vs. choice, the impact of secrets, and societal/cultural impacts were heavy themes that we explored as well.
The bake - pretzels
Make Your String
We made the easiest soft pretzels! After mixing the dough, everyone was given roughly 75 grams of the pretzel dough to make their own string. (See what we did there?) Once they made their own string, the shape became up to them (choice!). The key was just to make sure we all had the same amount of dough since the portions would be placed upon the same baking sheet. Here we see Theresa expertly making her string before shaping. Folks, she made the best mustard sauce to share with us - sooo delicious!
Ready To Boil
Our pretzel skills are strong my friends. Before these beauties hit the heat of the oven, they first need a dunk in boiling water with with baking soda. Check out the rolling talents on the left...impressive!
Want to see more dough rolling fun? We have video below!
The Dunk
Here is a huge shout of thanks to Julie Stoner and Tracey Krell for taking the helm at the dunk station. The dough was placed in boiling water with baking soda for 30 seconds and it went right back on the baking sheet for it's trip to the oven.
The results - yum!
Yum Infinity
Look at our beautiful "strings" (ok, pretzels) piping hot from the oven!
Butter Bath
Tristen helps out by giving our pretzels a buttery bath. Quay is monitoring the situation, expertly, but I really think she was secretly waiting to pounce.
Nom Nom
Is there anything better than friends standing around a kitchen island noshing? I think not. Although, our book discussion is right up there, too.
recipe
Ok, ok.... you want the recipe.
After reading through several recipes/blogs, I found a recipe that I thought would be ideal for our Book & Bake session. It comes from Sally's Baking Addiction...so, thanks Sally McKenney! One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it has only a 10 minute rise/rest time for the dough. Yeasted recipes can be tricky when you have a great book to discuss. Time is precious!
I also love the simplicity of Sally's recipe. The ingredient list is minimal and accessible. I practiced making these on a week night! As a teacher, I really appreciated the fact that I did not have to make a grocery run mid-week and that I could crank these out in 30-45 minutes.
So, if you have yeast, water, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and all purpose flour in your pantry, you are ready to make Sally's Baking Addiction soft pretzels. Linked above you will find the full recipe with instructions. Now get baking!
