4 H Breads Workshop

One of our county competitions is a Bread and Cookie contest.  The children can enter either a bread (quick, yeast, specialty, muffins etc. . .) or a cookie (drop, bar, shaped etc. . ) or both.  Coverbuds (ages 5-8) can use mixes but everyone else has to prepare their recipes from scratch.  Before the contest, they hold a workshop teaching the children how to make different kinds of bread.  Yesterdays workshop was learning to make soft pretzels.

Anthony, Christian, Alex, and Nick participated with Chelsea being a teen helper.  All of the children in each group had an opportunity to help make the dough.  Then the dough was divided among the children and they got to knead it and roll it into a ball.  While we waited 30 minutes for the dough to rise, they got to make a really cute mouse snack using graham crackers, cream cheese, strawberries, a small section of string cheese for the tail, and nuts for the ears.  After the 30 minutes were up, they got to shape their pretzels and put them in a bag to bake at home.

We had soccer yesterday too, so I had to sneak out of the workshop and run and grab supper and didn't get pictures of the pretzels when they were shaped.  We baked them last night after soccer and ate them today before I got to take a picture.  Alex's were about perfect in shape!  All of the pretzels were delicious!  Something we would definitely make again at home!
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 cup bread flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/8 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water

Mix water, yeast, brown sugar, salt.  Add in flour.  Knead 5 minutes.  Rise for 30.  Knead.  Divide.  Dunk into solution of 2 cups warm water and 1 T baking soda.  Form snakes and shape.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Top with butter and salt or cinnamon/sugar.

Emmie and Lily stayed occupied with some toys they brought