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Last week I treated myself to yet another cookbook, Ruhlman's Twenty.
(While collecting cookbooks appears to be a long-standing addiction [500 and counting], I'm not ready for any interventions. I still have empty rooms to fill!)
The first tool/technique in the book is Thinking.
I do a lot of that, all the time. I'm experienced at thinking. I make my living by thinking.
I'm usually well-prepared when I cook or bake, but I believe there is always something to learn.
So, when I participated in this month's Bread Baking Buddy event, I decided to test my thinking abilities.
Making soft pretzels requires a variety of steps -- making the dough, letting it rise and rest, shaping the pretzels, giving them a bath, brushing them with an egg wash, then baking them. To do this successfully, you need to be efficient and coordinated, having your mise en place and equipment ready to go.
For the water bath part, each time I put in a pretzel, I thought about how to improve the process. By the end, I would place a pretzel up-side down, by hand, in the simmering soda water, push the 15-second button on my timer, then flip it over with the spider, count another 15 seconds, then fish it out and place it neatly on the rack.
The process went very smoothly, thanks to extra thinking. All pretzels were made and baked in slightly over two hours. I sprinkled half of them with Kosher salt, and the other half with cinnamon sugar. Twelve hand-sized soft pretzels, just perfect for a snack.
September's Babe hostess was Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms. Check out her blog for the recipe and to find the links to the other Babes.
It's time to munch a fresh, soft pretzel.
As I write this, I'm munching away on these delicious cookies. I like to think of these as on-demand cookies. I keep the roll of dough in the fridge, then slice off a few and bake them in the toaster oven while I'm eating dinner.
No fuss, no muss.
I sprinkled the first batch with a little extra sea salt for that crunchy, salty, chocolatey, sweet experience.
A few of the almond slice & bakes came to the party, too.
If someone doesn't like that hint of pepper, you could substitute another spice. Either way, these are tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookies.
This week's hostess was Tia of Buttercream Barbie. She'll have the recipe available on her blog.
On the Tuesdays with Dorie site, there wasn't too much chatter about these. Tune in to see what everyone thought.
Welcome to the Bread Baking Day #43 Roundup! There are some mighty delicious onion bread entries, no crying necessary. A big thanks to Zorra for giving me the opportunity to host one of my favorite events.
Next month, instead of the usual BBD, Zorra, the creator of the event, will be hosting the 6th World Bread Day 2011 on October 16, so stay tuned for more information.Now, on with the roundup.
Connie, from my discovery of Bread, sent in some Onion Garlic Bialy, all the way from Thailand.
Sarah, from Winged Snail, in Ottawa (Canada), offered a Sourdough Onion Bread.
Heather, from Girlichef, in Indiana (USA), combined some terrific flavors for her Bacon, Green Onion, and Blue Cheese Bread.
Verena, from Mangia che te fa bene, in Brazil, baked a Dilly Onion Rye Amish Bread.
CurryLeaf, from TastyCurryLeaf, made an Onion and Olive Fougasse.
Natashya, from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, in Canada, submitted Kossar's bialys.
Manuela, from Cravo e Canela – Uma Cozinha no Brasil, in São Paulo (Brazil), shared her Dried Tomato and Onion Minipizza.
Palmira, from Come Conmigo el blog de Palmira, in Spain, created Fried Onion Brioches. (For the Spanish version, check here.)
Lien, from Notitie van Lien, in the Netherlands, sent over Spring Onion and Dried Tomato Rolls.
Zorra, our fearless creator from 1x umrühren bitte aka kochtopf, in Spain, shared Fried Onion Bread with Caraway. 
Finally, as hostess, my entry is an Onion Deli Rye.Thanks to everyone who bravely baked bread with onions this month. Please mark World Bread Day (October 16th) on your calendars -- check Zorra's blog for details in the coming weeks.