Skinny Soft Pretzels, gluten free, grain free, xanthan free

What do you crave? If you're like me, it's everything you haven't eaten for years. Do you walk past the pretzel stand and think, I want that? I do too. So, here you go darlings, a soft, gluten free and grain free pretzel that will make your heart glad...

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Makes apx 18 medium soft pretzels

Ingredients: Make sure all ingredients are gluten free and room temp.

Dry Ingredients:

note: Grind nuts, seeds, husks in small batches in coffee mill, sift, regrind bits

• 1/4 cup (20 grams) chia seed, ground to flour- sub: flax seed.
• 3/4 cup (60 grams) sesame seeds or seed of choice, ground to flour
• 1 1/2 cups almond meal flour (120 grams), or raw almonds, ground to flour (I used raw almonds)
• 1/4 cup (25 grams) coconut flour
• 1/2 cup (26 grams) instant non fat dry milk
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) cornstarch- sub: tapioca or potato starch. 
• 5 tablespoons psyllium husks, ground
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cane sugar (or local honey, add to wet instead)
• 1/4 cup whole sesame seeds

Wet Ingredients: combine in a small bowl

• 1 cup warm water, note: start with 3/4 cup and add the additional 1/4 cup as needed
• 3 large eggs (warmed in hot water), beaten
• 1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for while rising- see instructions

Yeast:

6 teaspoons fresh instant yeast, I use SAF Instant Yeast

Topping and wash:

1 egg, beaten
Coarse sea salt

Instructions:

1. Grind nuts, seeds and husks, separately, and in small batches, until you have the right measurement. Careful not to over grind or you will make nut/seed butter. Sift, regrind bits. Combine all dry ingredients and sift into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In your bread machine or large stand mixer, add the combined wet ingredients, except 1/4 cup warm water. Then the dry ingredients. Lastly, the yeast goes on top of the dry.
3. Use the bread machine dough cycle or mixer's dough hook or paddle, knead dough for apx 10-15 minutes. Unlike other bread dough's I make, this dough is very thick, almost like conventional bread dough.  As the dough kneaded, I used most of the 1/4 cup reserved water, but it depends on your measurements and humidity. I add a splash more olive oil on top once it's done kneading. 
4. Note: my bread machine is older, so I use a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides and bottom to help it fully incorporate all of the dry ingredients. I add the reserved warm water as it kneads if it's too dry.
5. Let dough rise in machine or warm location for an hour. 
6. Remove dough, don't punch down. 
7. Cover work surface with parchment or saran wrap-note: I wrap parchment under my heavy board or you can tape down.  
8. Pull off golf ball size pieces of dough, roll into a log in your hands, lay on rolling surface and spread your fingers to roll log. Gently roll evenly, rolling your fingers back and forth as needed along the log until it is apx 15 inches long. If you have too thick of ends, pull off and add back to the larger dough ball for the next log. 
9. Make a U shape with the rolled dough, hold the ends, like it shows here in this example  and twist once or twice. Lay the ends down at the bottom of the U and press gently.  I did not use anything to wet the ends and they stuck just fine. Be gentle, but it's a good dough and should hold together. 
10. Transfer to a large parchment lined baking sheet. 
11. Let rise in warm location for 30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg. Dust with coarse sea salt.
12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 12-14 minutes until brown and done. 

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