I’m spending today styling the Brahmin summer catalog in Providence, so I’m typing this right before I leave for the train station.  I’m so excited for this project, and I can’t wait to show you guys all the looks we’re putting together!  Look for more behind-the-scenes images (and a video) soon!

But — not these cheese twists.  I’ve actually been meaning to make these for probably three years — mostly because of this simple equation:

Cheese + Puff Pastry = Best Combo Ever.

These are basically just buttery, parmesan-y indulgent little finger foods, and what could be better than that?  You could dust them with fresh grated pepper or smoked paprika for a little complexity, but even on their own, they’re pretty great.  And a three-ingredient recipe that makes something this impressive?  Not bad, Katy.  Not bad.

INGREDIENTS

1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface, and cut it into thirds.  Brush both sides with olive oil.  Cut into strips on a diagonal.  Twist strips and place 2″ apart on a greased baking sheet, and top with parmesan cheese.  Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden. 

This bread proves that no matter how much experience you have in the kitchen, yeast can still get the better of you.  This was my second try on this recipe — my first try used a packet of yeast that was unexpired, stored at a proper temperature (at least, within my kitchen), and seemingly ready to be used.  And despite all that, my dough stayed thick and dense as a rock.  After setting it out to rise for an hour, it hadn’t even moved.

I started over.  This time, the yeast cooperated (although slowly) — I had bread that would rise, at least.  Still, though, this bread wouldn’t quiet cooperate.  When I tried to roll the raisins into a swirl, they grouped together at the bottom of the loaf (as you can see in the pictures).  The only solution I can think of is to add them with the wet ingredients, so they distribute evenly during kneading.  I’ve written the recipe that way below — when you guys try it, let me know if that works!

But even with all the trial and error, there is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the kitchen on a weekend morning.  So I’m going to call the end result a success — if only I could find a way to make my yeast a little less temperamental.

cinnamon bread recipe

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup warm water
1 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup raisins
3 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

Proof the yeast by mixing it with 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tbsp sugar.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes until milky and foaming.

In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast mixture, egg, milk, sugar, butter, salt, raisins and cinnamon.  Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.  Knead for about five minutes.

Turn the dough out into a lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down, and place it in a greased 1 1/2 pound loaf pan. Let rise until the bread is the shape that you want, around 45 minutes for a regular-sized loaf. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while the dough is rising.

Bake the loaf for 35 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing, and serve.

When I first posted this recipe for soft pretzels over a year ago, it immediately became one of the most popular posts on this site.  I made that recipe probably a dozen times, trying to improve it with some small variance — and finally settled on garlic.  Because, really, is there any savory recipe that isn’t better with some garlic?

But now I’m opening it up to you — what would be other good variations on this?  Clearly cinnamon sugar would be great, but are there any unique pretzel flavors I should try out?  I’m getting hungry just thinking about it…

Soft Pretzel Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp baking soda
1 cup hot water (as hot as your tap can get)
Sea salt

DIRECTIONS:
Dissolve yeast into water with a pinch of sugar, let stand 10 minutes, until the mixture is creamy colored. Mix the yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt, garlic powder and canola oil, and knead until combined (a few minutes, not even 5). Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough has risen, pinch off a handful and roll it out into a long strand. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough, about 6 times. Once all the strands are rolled out, pick up the first one and stretch it out again (the gluten will have relaxed and it should stretch further now). Twist it into a pretzel shape and place it on a baking sheet lined with silipat or cooking spray. Repeat with the rest of the strands.

Dissolve baking soda into hot water and stir until dissolved. Quickly dip each rolled pretzel into the mixture and place it back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle all the pretzels with sea salt, to your preference. Bake for about 8 minutes, until pretzels have browned.

Makes six medium-sized pretzels, but please double or triple this recipe, because they disappear quickly!