Witches Fingers (or soft pretzel dipping sticks)

I am getting just a little excited about Halloween. I have been obsessively ‘Pinteresting‘ all things pumpkiny and today I pressganged E into our first bit of spooky cooking courtesy of the Martha Stewart Halloween Handbook (sent to me from America by my lovely Mum). I’ve not had much experience of baking bread but these turned out just like those yummy warm German pretzels and although they were sculpted by a four year old I think they look pretty fab.

• Flaked almonds
• Food colouring in your choice of colour
• 2 cups warm water
• 1tbs sugar
• 1 sachet dried yeast
• 5 cups plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
• 1tbs salt
• 2tbs baking soda
• 1 egg (beaten for egg wash)
• Sea salt
• Vegetable/olive oil cooking spray

1. You can paint food colouring onto the almonds but I diluted the colour slightly with a little water, left the almonds to soak in it for a while and then left them on some kitchen role to dry.
2. Add the sugar to the warm water and, once desolved, add the yeast. Leave the mixture to stand until the yeast begins to bubble (about 5 min).
3. Beat in one cup of flour (ideally using a mixer with dough hooks but you can do it by hand if your feeling strong) before adding the salt. I had to use some garlic and rosemary salt as we didn’t have any normal stuff and it was lovely so don’t be afraid to add some flavours if you like.
4. Add the rest of the flour bit by bit while mixing and keep going until it comes together in a dough (about 3/4 minutes with a mixer but longer by hand). If it is still too sticky add up to another half a cup of flour.
5. Spray the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray and drop in the dough, turning it over to coat it all in the oil. Cover with cling film or a cloth and leave it somewhere warm to rise to double its size for about an hour. I use my oven on a 40 degree defrost setting which is a bit quicker.
6. Heat your oven to 200 and bring a large saucepan of water to a gentle simmer before adding the baking soda.
7. Split the dough into quarters and then the first quarter into 12, leaving the rest covered to stop it drying out.
8. Roll each lump into a finger shape, slightly thinner at one end and pinched to create knuckles. I made an indent with the end of a knife to help position the almond nails later.
9. Put the first 12 into the simmering water for 1 minute and then remove with a slotted spoon to a greased baking tray.
10. Add the coloured almond nails, brush with egg and sprinkle a little salt on the top if you like. You can score a couple of lines on the knuckles with a knife if you’re going for real authenticity.
11. Bake for about 15 minutes (or a little more if your fingers are a bit thicker).
12. They are great to eat while still warm or you can keep them in an airtight container for a day or two.

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