A Taste of NYC Vegan (…and of course a giveaway!)

So much food porn on this cover…I do not know where to start!!!

Where do I start???  I first wanted to open up this post by talking in great detail about how last year my dear friend Zoe and I left for an extended weekend to New York City and despite all the vegan eating that took place, we met soooooo many amazing people in the NYC vegan community, including Michael Suchman who is one half of the power couple that is Vegan Mos (Sadly, Ethan Ciment was out of town…).  However, talking about that trip would take eternity and you would get bored before you ever got to the recipe and the giveaway…hahaha!

But I have a better (and much shorter!) story that anyone can relate to…Back in 2009, I came across an AMAZING accidentally vegan baked pretzel recipe that I felt would stand the test of time.  But I never printed the recipe off and when I went back online to retrieve the recipe when I was craving a decent baked pretzel, it was gone forever 🙁  Since then I tried other recipes but it really wasn’t the same.

BUT….That has changed as of today and on this blog!!!  I am going to come out right now and thank Michael and Ethan for not only a cookbook worth gifting to your friends and family, but also a soft baked pretzel recipe that might put any street cart out of business!  Whenever I post a recipe on this blog, my rule is that I MUST TRY THE RECIPE MYSELF BEFORE POSTING- no exceptions!!!  I cannot stress enough how well the instructions were written and that no matter what your cooking expertise is, anyone can roll a really gorgeous pretzel all thanks to this cookbook.

 

True story…Rolling these took less than 10 minutes!

 

So without any further delay…

Street-Cart Pretzels

The soft pretzel has been sold on the streets of New York City since at least the 1820s. Today, they are sold from ubiquitous metal carts found all over Manhattan and always offered with mustard.

(From NYC Vegan, copyright © 2017 by Michael Suchman and Ethan Ciment. Used by permission. Photo by Jackie Sobon.)

 

Makes 8

 

1 1/2 cups warm water (110°F to 115°F)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast

4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons nondairy butter, melted

Canola oil or other neutral oil, as needed

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

Coarse salt, as needed

 

  1. Combine the warm water, sugar, and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow this mixture to sit for 5 minutes or until it begins to foam. Add the flour and butter. Using the dough hook attachment, mix the ingredients on low speed until well combined. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes.
  2. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl, and grease it well with oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it sit in a warm place for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
  3. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line 2 (18 x 12-inch) baking pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil. Set the pans aside.
  4. Bring the water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat. While waiting for the water to boil, shape the pretzels. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a “U” shape with the rope. Holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press them on to the bottom of the “U” in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place the pretzels on the prepared baking sheets.
  5. One at a time, place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large, flat spatula, return them to the baking sheets, and sprinkle them with the coarse salt. Bake the pretzels until they are light golden brown in color, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer them to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

 

So now I literally gave you the best pretzel recipe in the entire world, here are a couple more photos of the fun I had in preparation of this post.  As you can clearly see, I am pretty glad I lost my old recipe many years ago!

 

Before you head out to the kitchen to make yourself a batch…Please do not forget to enter my giveaway to get a copy of this cookbook!  I can tell you as one of the testers, this is not your typical vegan cookbook…far from it!  You will become inspired…guaranteed!!!

***DISCLAIMER…GIVEAWAY IS FOR US RESIDENTS ONLY!!!*** (sorry, I didn’t make up these rules 🙁  They came from someone with way more authority than I do!)

 

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