Yeast Unit Reflection

I feel that the yeast unit was overall a big success. We made dough, soft pretzels, and grilled pizza. This unit was interesting for me because I have not baked with yeast a lot in the past. I learned skills that I will definitely use in the future like kneading and blooming yeast. I found the soft pretzels particularly interesting because I think of them more as a hot, salty treat you get at a sports game than something you could make at home. The process wasn't difficult. My group used a Kitchen Aid mixer to combine the dough. I have had practice using this tool at home; however, this time we used a dough hook. The dough hook was a tool you attach to the electric mixer to knead the dough. Forming the pretzel shape was difficult at first, but once you got the hang of it, it was pretty fun. One mistake my group made was that when we put the pretzels into the boiling water and baking soda, a few unraveled. A way to fix this would be to press harder into the dough when making the pretzel so the sides stick. Other than that, the pretzels were a big success and I definitely plan on making them again!-Kate L