SC - ONCE AGAIN: PRECEDELLA MADE OF ALMONDS

[Tara Sersen]

Question - why would you add the powdered sugar to the mix before forming the
pretzels?  You said...

>Add the powdered sugar
>Knead together.
>Roll out and cut 1 " strips.
>Form pretzels.

The recipe said...

>make this almond dough 
>longish with your hands, strew white sugar onto it on the upper and the lower

>side, so that nothing sticks to your hands. And when you have made it 
>longish, form small pretzels from it,

...which indicates to me that you should start forming a roll, then use the
sugar on the outside to keep it from sticking to your hands while you work it
into a pretzel.  If you did add confectioners sugar to the mix, wouldn't it
change the consistancy, since confectioners sugar includes cornstarch?

Also, I agree about watering down the rose water.  Can anybody critique my assumption
here?  I am guessing that they wouldn't neccisarily mention adding water because
they weren't working with the high-concentration, standardized grocery-store
stuff that we get.  Any given batch of rose water could have a different concentration,
so wouldn't they water it down, or increase or decrease the amount used, to
be appropriate to the recipe?  Off the top of my head (which, admittedly, is
a bit small), I can't remember any instances of a recipe calling for both water
and rose water.  Would they assume that rose water is simply rose-flavored water,
and not the concentrated extract that we get?

Just some thoughts :)

Magdalena
Who just found an Indian grocery and bakery in an alley two blocks from work.
 This is dangerous.