more kitchen stupidity (cooking with crystal drain cleaner)

[cofi]

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10877/lye-bagels

well my pizzas have been coming out better and better(mama bear has stated that we no longer need to buy pizzas again ever!) so i want to try my hand at the other east coast staple real NY bagles......i know it can be done

it looks like a big part of the process is making the water very very high alkiline to hydrolize proteins in the flour and makes them brown through the malliard reaction you use lye to do this


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3322046297_5bd9dab7d7.jpg?v=0




every part of my brain say that boiling my bagles in drain cleaner will kill off me and the rest of the family but a bunch of the folks on the internets say this is the ONLY way to get real NY bagles what do you guys think???? sodium hydroxide is lye.......and the chinese(and a lot of other cultures) cook a lot of there noodles and desserts with lye

what do u guys think???

[TheGrey]

FOOD Grade Lye is what you should use to cook with, not drain cleaner. ;)
Lutefisk uses lye. As do pretzels. Alton Brown suggests baking soda for pretzels, maybe he also suggests something for bagels? I don't know.
Crystal Drain Cleaner isn't what will make your bagels taste good.

[Badger]

You're discussing a state, (NY) that disapproves of firearms of any kind at all, concerned that the state in question recommends sodium hydroxide, and then you ask....


what do u guys think???


To me it falls to a simple, "If you have to ask" kind of thing. Best of luck I guess.


Badger

[10mm-man]

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10877/lye-bagels

well my pizzas have been coming out better and better(mama bear has stated that we no longer need to buy pizzas again ever!) so i want to try my hand at the other east coast staple real NY bagles......i know it can be done

it looks like a big part of the process is making the water very very high alkiline to hydrolize proteins in the flour and makes them brown through the malliard reaction you use lye to do this


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3322046297_5bd9dab7d7.jpg?v=0




every part of my brain say that boiling my bagles in drain cleaner will kill off me and the rest of the family but a bunch of the folks on the internets say this is the ONLY way to get real NY bagles what do you guys think???? sodium hydroxide is lye.......and the chinese(and a lot of other cultures) cook a lot of there noodles and desserts with lye

what do u guys think???

Thinking; let me know how they come out! And if you guys are around after eating them for say, 6 months; I might try em! lol

[Great-Kazoo]

FOOD GRADE, DUDE, FOOD GRADE. Fukin jersyites. [facepalm]

The most important thing for any yeast / rising dough is conversion to high altitude . Water boils at a lower temp so you need to adjust cook times, FOOD GRADE LYE ratio, etc.

[cofi]

ok ok looking into food grade lye now :)

jim next time we hang out were gonna have a long talk about baking up here you seem to really know your shit

[BuffCyclist]

For what its worth, I just made these pretzels and dipped them in a boiled pot of water with baking soda (instead of the traditional lye) and they came out amazing!!! Granted, every time I have one, I want to drink a beer... nothing wrong with that, right?! [LOL]

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Papa-Drexlers-Bavarian-Pretzels/Detail.aspx

I cut the dough into 8 pieces and the pretzels were about 1.5" in diameter and about 10" long. HUGE pretzels!

[cofi]

i have done the baking soda dips on my pretzels in the past butr the peeps who have used lye said there is no comparison

[cofi]

fwiw im going to run this recipe with baking soda untill this comes in

http://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Hydroxide-Grade-Devil-Caustic/dp/B0039CPO34

[Dingo]

The title of your thread lead my imagination in altogether different and more amphetaminey directions. :-)

[Great-Kazoo]

ok ok looking into food grade lye now :)

jim next time we hang out were gonna have a long talk about baking up here you seem to really know your shit

I don't know shit just like breaking nj'ers balls. I do some cooking classes. you'd be surprised how many women AND men have no clue, OR spices in the kitchen.
FWIW: if you are not grilling or smoking your food. A gas stove is the only way to go. Electric range?? maybe if you're powder coating;)

It's been many a year, of trial n error to get what you want, the way you want. I have a few "squish" recipes that were suppose to be atlantic cod, but turned out some sort of ?????? Even the stray cats wouldn't touch it.

[Great-Kazoo]

For what its worth, I just made these pretzels and dipped them in a boiled pot of water with baking soda (instead of the traditional lye) and they came out amazing!!! Granted, every time I have one, I want to drink a beer... nothing wrong with that, right?! [LOL]

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Papa-Drexlers-Bavarian-Pretzels/Detail.aspx

I cut the dough into 8 pieces and the pretzels were about 1.5" in diameter and about 10" long. HUGE pretzels!


Looks like thursday nights desert thx.

[BuffCyclist]

Looks like thursday nights desert thx.

No problem, here's what I learned on my first batch:

make sure you knead the dough long enough. I make whole wheat bread every few weeks and I have to knead it like 15min to get a good rise. This pretzel dough needs at least 10min.

DEFINITELY use the butter and salt. I used coarse sea salt on half, and nothing on the other half just to see what was better, the salted ones were at least 10 times better.

They have an excellent pretzel flavor though, good luck! I'm interested to hear how the lye ones turn out lol

[Great-Kazoo]

No problem, here's what I learned on my first batch:

make sure you knead the dough long enough. I make whole wheat bread every few weeks and I have to knead it like 15min to get a good rise. This pretzel dough needs at least 10min.

DEFINITELY use the butter and salt. I used coarse sea salt on half, and nothing on the other half just to see what was better, the salted ones were at least 10 times better.

They have an excellent pretzel flavor though, good luck! I'm interested to hear how the lye ones turn out lol

LYE ? I'm cooking pretzels, not meth.

[Dingo]

Mmmmmm methpretzels. Delicious and stimulating.

[Jefe's AR]

My mother was instrumental in bringing bagels to Colorado in the early 80s. She helped convince a Italian bagel baker form NYC living in SF to come to Boulder and open the Bagel Bakery. Apparently it's very difficult to make a proper bagel at this altitude. I'm not sure of the specifics but that's what I recall.

I love me some bagels. Currently I believe Bruegger's has the best bagels in Denver.

[spyder]

I don't know shit just like breaking nj'ers balls. I do some cooking classes. you'd be surprised how many women AND men have no clue, OR spices in the kitchen.
FWIW: if you are not grilling or smoking your food. A gas stove is the only way to go. Electric range?? maybe if you're powder coating;)

It's been many a year, of trial n error to get what you want, the way you want. I have a few "squish" recipes that were suppose to be atlantic cod, but turned out some sort of ?????? Even the stray cats wouldn't touch it.
Jim, when you "Mr. Nice" talk about cooking, it reminds me of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVA7MDQr1Nc

[Digi]

"If you like pepperoni and bullets then you've come to the right place. If not you're an idiot and deserve to die!" Haha, that's awesome.

[Great-Kazoo]

No problem, here's what I learned on my first batch:

make sure you knead the dough long enough. I make whole wheat bread every few weeks and I have to knead it like 15min to get a good rise. This pretzel dough needs at least 10min.

DEFINITELY use the butter and salt. I used coarse sea salt on half, and nothing on the other half just to see what was better, the salted ones were at least 10 times better.

They have an excellent pretzel flavor though, good luck! I'm interested to hear how the lye ones turn out lol


Did them using bs. Next time rolling them out thinner is the way to go. I ended up making pretzel bites (1x1's) with SALT. I will also grease the pans much heavier as the transfer from pot o water to cookie sheet negated some of the lubricity of the lard. I might even one up the recipe and use BACON GREASE on the cookie sheets YES!


Jim, when you "Mr. Nice" talk about cooking, it reminds me of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVA7MDQr1Nc

Why thank you, that's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said with out vulgarity in the same sentence. [LOL]

[jerrymrc]

Mmmmmm methpretzels. Delicious and stimulating.

Back of my neck hurts just thinking about that. Now bring on the disco dust version and I might look. [LOL]

[Irving]

Have you guys considered trying to do pretzels or bagels inside a pressure cooker so altitude is less of an issue?

[sniper7]

Have you guys considered trying to do pretzels or bagels inside a pressure cooker so altitude is less of an issue?

you trying to get them on some kind of watch list? we all know only ill intended people buy pressure cookers now

[BuffCyclist]

Did them using bs. Next time rolling them out thinner is the way to go. I ended up making pretzel bites (1x1's) with SALT. I will also grease the pans much heavier as the transfer from pot o water to cookie sheet negated some of the lubricity of the lard. I might even one up the recipe and use BACON GREASE on the cookie sheets YES!



Glad they worked out! I've got some free time today, so I might go make some more... mmm, delicious pretzels! And I even have a beer in the fridge, what a coincidence!

[Great-Kazoo]

Glad they worked out! I've got some free time today, so I might go make some more... mmm, delicious pretzels! And I even have a beer in the fridge, what a coincidence!

Forgot to add. We froze the remaining ones to see how they would reheat, ala SUPER PRETZELS.. They were much crispier then the first time round, some of that i feel was due to being too thick.

[cofi]

Forgot to add. We froze the remaining ones to see how they would reheat, ala SUPER PRETZELS.. They were much crispier then the first time round, some of that i feel was due to being too thick.
did you get any pics jim?

[Great-Kazoo]

did you get any pics jim?

Only when you answer your wife's phone. Obviously you cannot be trusted with your own.

[cofi]

Only when you answer your wife's phone. Obviously you cannot be trusted with your own.
thats my phone! ill call tomorrow when i dont have amanda and the baby all the way up my ass :D

[Great-Kazoo]

thats my phone! ill call tomorrow when i dont have amanda and the baby all the way up my ass :D

make sure you wash your hands before touching anything.