March 22, 2007...8:32 pm
Sourdough Pretzels
I have a thing for sourdough, first of all. I love the taste, and the texture is just divine. There’s nothing I love more with a rich soup than a big chunk of sourdough bread alongside it.
But sourdough pretzels… Aah, there’s another love. And they’re damn hard to come by, for some reason. There are pretzel shops in the malls here, but they sell those oddly skinny pretzels that aren’t sourdough. The 7-11s have pretzel spinners but they’re invariably empty, so that I don’t even know what kind of pretzels they sell. The only place I’ve been able to find them here have been at the Red River Ex, and I’d like to have them more than once a year.
(I’m also a huge fan of Snyder of Hanover’s Hard Sourdough Pretzels, but I just can’t seem to find them here. There was a place at the Forks that sold them a while ago, but when I asked about them recently I was greeted with a blank stare. I just sent them an email query; we’ll see what they say.)
I’m not sure what the issue is, but it’s annoying that I can’t sate my pretzely desires whenever I want. So I might try making my own. The problem, of course, is that I’d have to make some sourdough starter. *frustrated sigh* But I want my pretzels now! Why don’t Canadians like sourdough?
1 Comment
September 29, 2007 at 9:37 am
Heya, I actually got some sourdough starter going here in Winnipeg awhile back, but I got lazy and let them die. It was easy, though.
Go to a dollar store and pick up two water jugs, you know the ones, every restaurant uses them and you pour out the spout for no ice or the side if you want ice in your glass? Get a couple of those.
Now, mix two cups flour and two cups water in one of those jugs, and let it sit overnight in a warm place. Then, pour half out, and add in another cup of each (this is called feeding). Keep doing this, I did it every twelve hours for three days. I used two jugs so I could just pour half into the fresh jug, dump the rest and wash out the jug for the next feeding. These types of jugs are convenient in terms of size and usage, and I just kept my jug sitting on the counter in the kitchen, nothing fancy.
Eventually, wild yeast will set up shop, and there’s your starter. Then, follow any recipes you like.
I’m told that it takes a long time for a new starter to really develop its “sourness”, but you can also order cultures online for various strains (there are innumerable strains of wild yeast, each with its own flavour and activeness), including classic San Fran, Italian, etc. Hopefully you’ll be less lazy than me and keep it going. :>
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