Soft Pretzels with Local Ale Cheese Dip
Someone asked me recently what I was best at cooking or baking, and my husband instantly interjected with, “Bread!” to which my oldest son agreed, “Yep. It’s bread.”
And it’s true. I absolutely adore making bread, which makes it something that I practice working with the most in the kitchen, and therefore one of the things that I have become more talented in than others. I am still, however, truly terrible at cake making. Maybe one day! While I have delved into many different types of breads and pastries and short crusts and more, there is always more to learn. I decided to try my hand at making soft pretzels, and my passion for bread making grew. Pretzels have become a huge hit for our family; they hardly last more than a day when I make them. It has been such a joy moving back to the farm because now there are more mouths to feed and less food gets left behind. I am looking forward to the day when I am grandma instead of mother with lots of adult children, spouses, and grandchildren to make food for. It’s one of my ultimate life goals!
These soft pretzels are super easy to make. Unlike making bagels, they do not require second rises and chilling or difficult shaping or hardcore boiling. It’s almost like an intro to bagel making, or rather, easy bagel making that results in a crusty and salty delicious pretzel. This recipe works well for both big soft twisted pretzels or can be made into pretzel bites. I like dipping it into a cheese sauce made with local ale, but they would also be delicious sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before baking!
ingredients & recipe:
soft PRETZELS:
2 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup & 1 tsp granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups warm water
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp coconut oil or melted lard (vegetable oil works fine)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour
9 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda
pretzel salt
ale CHEESE DIP:
3 tbsp salted butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk or coconut milk
1/2 cup ale, beer, or hard cider
2 tsp German style mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
MAKE THE PRETZELS:
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture will become foamy and puffed.
Add the salt and oil to the yeast mixture and whisk together. Fit the standing mixer with a dough hook. Slowly begin to incorporate the flour, 1 cup at a time, until a soft and smooth dough forms. The dough is ready when it not longer sticks to the sides of the bowl and becomes one piece of uniform dough. Do not over-add flour as this will create a dense bread!
With wet hands, transfer the pretzel dough to a large lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 425° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large pot, bring the 9 cups of water and baking soda to a rolling boil. Be sure to fully whisk in the baking soda so that it completely dissolves.
Punch down the pretzel dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Using a scale helps to ensure each piece is equal in size. Taking one of the 12 pieces, roll it into a long snake, about 24 inches long. Twist the rope into a traditional pretzel shape (pictured below for reference!). Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
When all of the pretzels are shaped, begin the boiling process. Boil 2 pretzels at a time in the baking soda water for 30 seconds, raised side down. Do not boil longer than this, as it can give the dough a metallic taste! There is no need to flip the pretzels, simply splash a bit of the water on top as it is boiling with a spoon. Remove the pretzel from the water bath with a slotted spoon and place back on the baking sheets. Sprinkle with pretzel salt and finish boiling the remaining pretzels.
Bake in the 425° F oven for 10-15 minutes or until dark golden brown. Serve immediately.
MAKE THE CHEESE DIP:
While the pretzels are baking, make the cheese dip. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until a roux forms and emits a nutty aroma and lightly browned color.
Slowly pour in the milk, whisking all the time, and bring to a boil. It will begin to thicken nicely. Add the ale or beer and bring up to a boil. Season with the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and salt. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted. If it has become too thick, add a bit more milk to thin it out.
If you like a more decadent pretzel, you can brush these with melted butter after they come out of the oven. I like mine to remain a bit drier than that. One thing that I have learned is because they are boiled, it makes the dough much softer and a bit wet. They do not store well in a plastic bag, as it ends up deflating the bread a bit. I prefer to store them in a fabric bread bag in a bread box. They keep fairly well this way, or at least they don’t end up becoming soggy. These work best to be eaten within a few days!
Enjoy! xoxo Kayla
