Send some pictures and the recipe please.
I want to make some pretzels soon.
I'll give you the recipe I used now, but with the caveat that I'm still waiting to see how it turns out.... and also with the caution that I don't completely know what I'm looking for. My husband swears by brioche, and he's going to be the judge of whether this recipe is "right". I will only know if it's nice or not-nice. I'll let you know in a few hours. We just took mine out of the 'fridge and shaped it. I'll follow up with pictures and my husband's verdict when it's ready.
For two small loaves (this is as published... I cut everything in half for one small loaf because it's just the two of us, plus our oven is small):
400g strong white bread flour (plus extra for dusting)
5g powdered dried yeast
10g fine salt
90ml warm milk
2 tbsp caster sugar
100g butter, softened
4 medium eggs, beaten
Mix all the ingredients and knead for 10 minutes, or until smooth and shiny.
Shape the dough into a round and cover it tightly (you'll need flour because the dough is very wet and sticky, or maybe just leave it in the bread machine? I don't know how this will work for you, actually, because ...) and put it in the 'fridge overnight.
The next day, divide the dough, shape your loaves, lightly flour them, cover and leave them somewhere warm to prove until almost double in size (this will take a few hours, as the dough will be cold from being in the fridge).
Preheat oven to 200C (220C if not a fan oven), brush the loaves all over with a glaze made from 1 beaten eggs with 2 tbsp milk, bake for 10 minutes at 200C,then lower the oven to 180C and continue baking for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Oh...
He says in here that the overnight chill isn't strictly necessary. But it does make the dough easier to work with when you're ready to shape it. He also recommends using a mixer, or your bread machine, for the kneading, rather than the chaos I went through last night kneading by hand.
Update! The verdict is in... too much salt, not sweet enough, and the structure isn't right. Looking at the pictures my husband Googled, I think mine is under-kneaded (I was doing it by hand, and it was very messy to work with) so it didn't develope the long gluten strands. It's totally edible, but not the briiche he was hoping for.
Photo of mine:
