Pretzels, Stollen, and Rolls

Another rather busy weekend... Mark started on Friday, with his world-famous pretzels. Last time he made them we realized - too late - that our oven is broken. So we had to bake them in the toaster oven. In addition to being extremely exhausting, the ones that went in late rose too much and got way too fat. They were still good, though.
This time we could bake them in the oven, which is much better suited for baking 16 to 24 of the beasts.

This is what they look like after they're brushed with butter and sprinkled with garlic powder.

The next day he made buttermilk rolls. These are our favorite rolls - we use them for Sloppy Joes, with burgers, hot dogs (all vegetarian, of course!), and eggs. Seems like every time they get even better!


Sunday we finally made Stollen, a traditional German bread made during the Christmas season. And I say "we" because I made the little baby Jesus that lies inside the colorful folded covers - out of almonds.

Jesus is barely visible in this picture - he seems to blend in pretty well with the blankets - but it's still very yummy. The dough is flavored with cinnamon and cardamom and rum-soaked raisins and dried fruit. The pineapple and cherries are my favorites!