Hey guys. I am thinking of starting up an in home flavored soft pretzel business so I am sure I will have a ton of questions. Instead of flooding the forum I will post all of my pretzel related questions for you guys here. If you are willing to help me out, please keep a check while I create my path.
I have come up with a recipe for a soft pretzel. It is 2 cups Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix and 3/4 cup water. This dough has a sweeter less yeasty flavor than typical soft pretzels. I'm not a fan of yeasty flavor. I boil this in 5 cups water and 1/3 cup baking soda for 30 seconds and then bake at 425 for 12 minutes. This has proven to be a good basic recipe to branch out from with one exception. My dough is hard to roll into a strip as it has VERY little stretch. If I add more water to add extensibility, the dough becomes too sticky. I have contemplated adding oil to see if that helps, but I am not sure how much to start tinkering with for an amount. I am also not sure of how much water to cut out or a good water to oil ratio. Any ideas?
To give a little background as to where I am going, here is my flavor list:
Sweet - Sea Salt and Caramel Drizzle, Triple Chocolate Drizzle (dark, white, and milk), Peanut Butter Chocolate Drizzle, Maple Bacon, Cinnamon and Sugar, Powdered Sugar and Honey
Savory - Garlic Parm, Chive, Ranch, Pepperoni n Mozz, Jalapeno, Bacon and Sun Dried Tomato, Bacon, Garlic Greens
Plain with Dip in knots or sticks (nacho, cream cheese, pb n j, or marinara)
Cheese stuffed pretzel sticks (Mozz, pepperjack, and cheddar)
Honey Butter Pretzel Monkey Bread
Plus potential for customized recipes with herbs n cheeses.
also, if I were adding dried chives (or any dried herbs) instead of fresh, would I bloom them in warm water first to rehydrate?
would I be able to add a pan roasted minced garlic to my dough and have it still hold?
sorry... so many questions.
No snark intended by the question. You say that "I am not a fan of yeasty flavor." But you aren't going into business so that you can sell yourself pretzels, one would think. If your customers like the yeasty flavor, instead of the pancake mix flavor, you probably won't sell anything to anyone. Not much profit in that business model, I'm afraid.
You've already learned that the pancake mix doesn't behave the way you want it to. It probably won't, either, since it is designed for a different use. Why not spend some time and energy to develop a pretzel formula all your own that can be handled effectively? And one that customers will be willing to purchase? There are plenty of soft pretzel recipes floating around the Web and in baking books. Use one of those as a jumping off point and customize it. Bonus: your ingredient costs will be lower than using a ready-made mix.
Do your research. Best wishes for your success.
Paul