Memorable food finds made during exploration of Lancaster County, Pa.
Homemade Pretzels
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HOMEMADE PRETZELS
11/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
41/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 oz. unsalted ...
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HOMEMADE PRETZELS
11/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
41/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 oz. unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
Coarse salt
Mix the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. At medium speed, knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove dough from the bowl. Clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for about 50 to 55 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper, and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly-oiled work surface and divide 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 onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined, half-sheet pan.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, one-by-one, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half-sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture, and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark, golden brown in color, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
THE TRIP SO FAR
Several weeks ago, I traveled to Pennsylvania for a bike trip.
My friend, Dorothy, had planned the trip almost a year ago, and despite having lots of time to prepare and get in shape, I didn't. I just had too much to do, or maybe I'm just getting sedentary and lazy. Anyway, there was no way I would be able to ride a bike 30 to 60 miles per day.
Luckily, all my travel companions had decided that we would rent a van, so I became the designated driver. It was as if they were all intoxicated with being physically fit (you've heard of a runner's high), so I would have to remain sober in that regard...
Editor's note: This is Part II of a two-part series on Myra's trip to Lancaster County, Pa.
Somewhere in Lancaster County, Pa., is a road sign that is slightly bent about 10 degrees. There are no dents in the sign because it did not come in contact with anything metal, only something plastic like a car part.
Because of my driver designation, I was in charge of mounting the bike rack onto our van, in case we had to pick up other riders.
Everyone left early one morning, and Janet and I decided to enjoy a second cup of coffee before loading the van.
Breakfast comes early when you are on a biking vacation, and not being an early riser, I looked for any excuse to sleep a little later.
Our idea that morning was to take the same road as the bikers, to pass them and park the van, and then ride back to meet them for lunch. We had maps, printed directions, an iPhone, and a Garmin GPS.
Janet seemed convinced that if we put in the desired location, our Garmin Nuvi could get us there. The Nuvi, which depends on determining our location by satellite, seemed somewhat slow. Maybe it was inadequately charged, not programmed for that area or perhaps we were so far in the middle of nowhere that we weren't even under a satellite.
I took a wrong turn down a very small country road. After traveling for about 10 minutes, I decided to pull over and get out a map. Because the road was very narrow, I had to pull off the road and parallel park between an old pickup truck and a trailer with a flat tire. My view out the back window was not the best, since I had two bikes on the rack.
Things were somewhat tense in the car. Janet was trying to navigate by using all the technology she had. I was insisting we consult a printed map since all the generations before us preferred this technique. We were lost.
The noon hour was approaching, and we had hoped to catch up with the riders for lunch. I think I looked before I backed up, but I definitely heard a pop so I knew I hit something. Several things were racing through my mind:
A. I have probably crunched two very nice bikes.
B. I will probably have to replace Janet's bike.
C. We are very lost, and I am very hungry.
I jumped out of the van to look. It took only seconds for me to see that I had backed into a road sign.
No apparent damage had taken place, except that the straps had popped off the bike rack, and I would have to get new parts. The bikes were fine.
Janet had joined me outside the car and we began to laugh.
Good friends can always turn adversity into opportunity. We happened to be near a town with a creamery. I had researched restaurants for the trip and although I had no idea of the roads, you could give me the name of a town, and I could tell you where we needed to eat when we were there.
Strasberg Country Store and Creamery is not your average ice cream shop. The shop is like traveling back in time. Pure homemade ice cream is mixed daily. They offer old-fashioned ice cream with at least 14 percent butterfat.
The chocolate ice cream is made from Wilbur's chocolate (made in Litiz, Pa.), but my favorite was Shoo Fly pie ice cream and it tasted exactly like the pie.
Janet and I decided two scoops of ice cream made a great lunch, so we sat in the nostalgic shop and licked ice cream cones like school children. We had to try the apple dumplings since they were just baked.
We watched with delight as tourists streamed into the country store with small children who stood on "tippy toe" or were hoisted by their dads so they could see into the glass fronted freezers. They squealed with glee as the employees dipped their cones into cookie parts, M&M's and sprinkles. I know just how they felt.
While we were sitting in the store, I happened to look at a brochure on gardens and noticed Longwood gardens near Kennett Square, Pa. I looked at my map and realized these incredible gardens were only a little more than an hour away from our next bed and breakfast destination in Red Lion.
While we were finishing our ice cream, an Amish buggy passed by the window. I could hear the clip clop of the horses' feet as the buggy carried the little family home to their farm.
The next morning, Janet and I could hardly contain our excitement. We convinced Kim to join us for the all-day garden excursion and she agreed to give up the bike and ride in the van.
Pierre S. DuPont purchased the Peirce Arboretum to save its trees from being cut for lumber in 1906. Over the next 50 years, this wealthy businessman developed Longwood Gardens into what it is today, a magnificent horticultural showplace. The gardens encompass more than 1,000 acres, which are planted with more than 11,000 types of plants.
The glass conservatory is one of the world's largest greenhouse structures and houses more than 20 different gardens and 5,500 types of plants.
This excursion was my most beautiful memory of Pennsylvania.
Later that day, we visited Lititz, Pa., and the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Factory. The story they tell is "In 1850, Julius Sturgis ran a bread bakery in Lititz, Pa. Legend has it that a hobo who had hitched a ride on a train that ran behind the bakery followed the smell of freshly-baked bread, looking for a job and something to eat. Julius couldn't offer the man a job, but he extended his hospitality and invited the hobo to sit down at the family dinner table.
In exchange for the kindness, the hobo gave Julius a pretzel recipe. Julius had never baked pretzels, so he decided to test the recipe on his wife and 14 children. It was a hit, and Julius added pretzel baking to his business. In 1861, 11 years after he baked his first pretzel, Julius stopped making bread and established the first commercial pretzel bakery in America."
I can only speak for the freshly-baked pretzel I enjoyed at their storefront, but I think Julius knew what he was doing.
It may sound like my entire trip was spent eating my way through Pennsylvania, and that perhaps, is not far from the truth. I certainly did not miss any opportunities to taste what Pennsylvania had to offer.
But like most adventures there were times of frustration, like getting lost, and times of joy, like sitting down with old friends to talk about the new things we saw that day.
Janet and I did get on our bikes and ride through the countryside. It was great to smell the freshly-turned fields and to stop and taste freshly picked apples and cold homemade root beer.
Our group of friends had an opportunity to have dinner with an Amish family and eat the best corn-lima bean succotash I have ever had in my life.
I will remember for years those homemade apple fritters I had at a farmers market.
OK, so maybe the food on the trip was a big priority.
I could not wait to try my hand at pretzel making. My pretzels are not as good as the ones I had in Lititz, Pa., but then again, I don't have any hobos giving me secret recipes.
Myra Starkey lives in Victoria. Write her in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901, or e-mail myra@vicad.com.
