Pretzel Dogs

Okay so today I cheated. I totally cheated.

I did NOT try an entirely new recipe… rather I adapted my most recent post.

I found this amazing recipe for Soft Pretzels from Food Network’s Alton Brown and baked them up yesterday. They turned out so beautifully I altered the same recipe to make dinner for my family last night!

        PRETZEL DOGS!

Who doesn’t love a pretzel dog? I made the pretzels according to the recipe I included in my Soft Pretzels post. After rolling the dough in to a 24 inch rope, I simply wrapped the dough around a thawed anddry hot dog. I used Hebrew National all beef hotdogs.

Continue following the original recipe, placing each dough covered hot dog in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Place on parchment covered baking sheet, brush on egg yolk wash, sprinkle some coarse salt on top, then bake for 12-14 minutes.

 The recipe makes 8 pretzels, therefore this made 8 pretzel dogs. 

When doubling the recipe, (I had to because my family is so large) make the dough in separate batches. Otherwise your electric mixer may be in for a world of damage, EKE!

Let that pretzel dog cozy up to some deliciously spicy mustard, and ENJOY!

Soft Pretzels

I have been drinking a lot of craft beer lately. ALOT. Today’s recipe was inspired by the beers I’ve been consuming (Southern Tier- Unearthly, Greenbush- Retribution).

And what goes great with great beer?

They go together like peanut butter & jelly … like bread & butter … like tuna fish & chocolate mousse…

Soft Pretzels & Beer!

Can you think of anything better in this whole world?

Again, this is a first for me, I have never made pretzels before! I had always been slightly intimidated by the thought, but after reading through the Homemade Soft Pretzels Recipe by Alton Brown, I thought, I CAN DO THIS! And I did! And they’re fantastic!!!

Just give me some spicy mustard and I am one happy lady!

These babies took about 2 hours start to finish, but don’t let that scare you off! They’re beautiful, and they will be sure to impress!

Prep: 30 minutes     Inactive: 1 hour     Cook: 25 minutes 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110-115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Directions

1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
   

   Egg yolk wash

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
5. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Fresh out of the oven, yum

Enjoy!