Pretzel logic.

Massive pretzels from the other day.  That wire rack is 9'x12"

I mentioned pretzel sandwiches the other day, and boy were they delicious.  It's worth mentioning that I made an ingredient change that makes a huge difference in my opinion.  I've replaced the brown sugar from my original recipe with a malted barley syrup.  

The syrup provides food for the yeast as well as an unmistakable flavor, and makes for a nice earth-tone dough.  A few other tweaks worth noting: I've tried bread flour, AP flour, and whole wheat flour.  The bread flour makes the dough too hard to work, with no benefits.  Similarly, whole wheat flour alone makes dough harder to work than steel cable thanks to massive amounts of gluten.  The best solution I've found is to use AP flour with a small portion of wheat for flavor, color, and texture. Here's the updated recipe. (The procedure is unchanged)


1 cup warm water (plus some more to bring your dough together.)
1/3 cup malted barley syrup (ish.  hard to measure because it's thick and sticky)

2 ½t active dry yeast

1 stick melted butter

4 1/2 cups AP flour
2t salt

1/2 cup wheat flour

COARSE kosher salt for the tops (far better than even regular kosher salt)

The recipe volume has been increased for a few reasons. First, my Kitchenaid mixer does a better job kneading a slightly bigger dough ball. Secondly, I can make bigger pretzels and more of them. After all, it's just as easy to make more if you're already making some.  Who doesn't like that?  If you're in the fence about trying pretzel making, you really should give it a shot.  It's not hard, you just need to roll up your sleeves and set aside an hour or two.  It's totally worth it.

Spring update

There's a lot going on around here lately, which has had an effect on my blog publishing schedule.  Sorry for that.  Huge thanks to all my regular readers, and to those that wander by for a glimpse.  The next weeks will bring yardwork, range time, plenty of cooking, and other business as 2011 rolls along...


In upcoming posts, I'll have a range report with pics and video, some thoughts on sisters, my master pizza crust recipe, and my "doorway" analogy.  I also intend to deliver on some promises from past posts, including more on pocketknives.


Stick around for more!  I'll leave you with a stock photo of tonight's dinner, pretzel sandwiches.  I have dough rising as we speak, so it's time to get rolling!

Chocolate Part II

This is an ode to my favorite candybars.  You already know from Chocolate Part 1 that I greatly prefer European chocolate to Big American chocolate.  I've got only one use for a Hershey bar, and it's for making smores.  A Hershey bar won't melt and make a mess, and that's it.  The playing field gets much more crowded when you start to add things to the candybar, often relegating the actual chocolate to a background singer.  So here are some favorites, in no particular order.

Set your sights

After a bit of a break, I'm back to finish up Shooting 101.  We have two items left to cover and today I have some thoughts on Sight Picture.  As I said in The Four Rules, it's rather easy to miss targets even at close range if you don't align the sights properly.  In addition to proper sight alignment, there are a few things you need to know about sight focus.


In the context of handguns, most sight systems consist of a square post front and a corresponding square notch in the rear.  You'll hear them referred to as "iron" sights or "open" sights, meaning a non optical (no lenses, etc.) system.  The shape and width of iron sights vary depending on manufacturer and purpose, with competition target sights being thinner than sights for fast, defensive use.  Regardless, the proper sight picture is achieved when the front sight is centered in the rear notch, and the top of the front sight post is even with the top of the rear sight.  How this sight alignment is superimposed on the target is actually more complicated that you might think.

The Great Circle Route

It's that time of year; just after the holidays when we take the opportunity to return to old stomping grounds. I was born and raised in Michigan, and it's trips like these that make me miss it. Michigan is truly a winter wonderland for those with the proper mindset, determination, and extra gloves. The circle tour took us from Cincinnati to Traverse City to Muskegon and back, with two obligatory stops in Kalamazoo for the greatest mexican food I've ever had. Here is a quick look at the adventure, in pictures.