I’m 3 favourite ingredients behind, but I’ll publish them at my pace. I guess this is going to be this year’s theme. Everything happens at the right time! ♥

Today: caraway seeds

What terrifies me the most when working with caraway seeds? That I could use too many seeds or too few!

Where do I get caraway seeds from? I grew up with the Romanian ones! 😊

Why do I love them? My grandmothers and my Mom made me love this ingredient. My entire family used caraway seeds extensively.

How do I use them? Caraway soup is my favourite; mini-pretzels and sărăţele seem to be missing something if they lack caraway seeds.

Makes 45

50ml milk

1 tbsp/5g fresh yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

300g flour

1 teaspoon salt

100g butter

1 egg

+ 1 tbsp caraway seeds

+ 15-20g hard cheese (shredded)

+ 1 egg yolk

I have been planning to try out this recipe for a long time (it’s my godmother Maria’s) and I gladly recall the childhood holidays that had mini-pretzels on the table. I thought it would be nice to inspire you with this recipe for Easter.  

This is how you bake them... and I’m still craving them even though I’ve munched too many today.

Heat the milk (but only a bit in order not to deactivate the yeast); add the fresh yeast and the sugar. After 5 minutes, add the flour, the salt, the melted butter, and the egg and knead well. Let the dough rest for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into two (it will be easier). Roll out the dough (thickness: 3-4mm), cut out mini-pretzels using a cutter, and place the mini-pretzels into a baking pan lined with parchment paper.  

When you’re done (the dough will be harder to work with after the first roll-out, so press firmly on the cutter), brush the yolk on the mini-pretzels. I decided to make 15 plain mini-pretzels, 15 with caraway seeds (my favourites), and 15 with cheddar (but you can use any other hard cheese).

Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 10-12 minutes (until the mini-pretzels turn brown).

I love the fact that these mini-pretzels are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. To keep them like that, store them in a dish with a lid.