Baker?

While retired, I am not financially strapped, yet I look for ways to ease the strain on the budget.  I have long loved pretzel buns for my hamburgers or similar sandwiches.  I even prefer a pretzel hot dog bun for my bratwurst.  I was told they are low-cost and you can make your own from scratch.  

Today, I tried it for the first time!  It took about 30 minutes to prepare, then 80 minutes to rise, and 15 minutes to prep and cook.  The final product looks like a pretzel bun.  Could I be a successful baker?

When I finished, I went for a 20-mile bike ride to let them cool.  It was a hard ride, but I'm not sure why.  It was about 80 minutes, with an average heart rate of 125 beats per minute and a maximum heart rate of 153 beats per minute.  The numbers were solid.

After arriving home, I tried my pretzel bun attempt.  It was not better than a store-bought one when eating just the bun.  The texture was perfect, but it was a little dry.  A burger with mayonnaise and mustard would make this a success.  It would also be great with ham, egg, and cheese for breakfast.  Again, alone, it was average at best.  I need more butter and a touch more salt in the next batch.  But as a rookie, that is only a guess.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up my mess as a rookie baker and watching softball.  Some great games, including Duke coming from behind to win.  In the entire ACC Tournament, the Duke had walk-off innings.  The final game was Oklahoma VS Texas.  Texas is ranked number 1, and Oklahoma, who won the past three World Series, has struggled.  We will see Oklahoma as one of the 2024 World Series selections tomorrow, followed by Texas and LSU.  I was hoping Arkansas would have won as that would have assured home games for two weekends in a row, assuming they win the first weekend) and I planned to go to Arkansas for the Super Regional, should they host.  I have a place to stay for free in Fayetteville!  They will host the first weekend, but I have already made plans to go to the Field of Dreams location in Dyersville, Iowa.  I have friends playing a game there on Saturday.

I tried to get some Northern Lights images last night and failed.  So tonight, I won't try again as I am so TIRED!

Carry on my Friends, carry on.