P is for Pretzels (Jennifer)

Greetings!

This week's post for pretzels was inspired, in part, by my trip to the fair this past weekend! That's right--this may be California, but will still enjoy a good fair in the summertime! I feel particularly lucky living here because we get two fairs each summer--the Orange County Fair in July/August and the Los Angeles County Fair in September/October. I love, love, love the fair. Although, since my 10-year (gasp!) high school reunion is coming up and I'm watching my figure, I splurged only for a snowcone and a Cheese-On-A-Stick from the famed "Hot Dog On A Stick" chain. Does everyone out there in blogland have HDOAS? If not, you should find one. Pronto. I'm a fan of the cheese-on-a-stick variety. Deeeeelish.

Anywhoo, back to pretzels. And cheese. This week I combined the two for a homemade pretzel and cheese one-two punch. It reminded me of summers past where my sister and I would ask my mom to buy us a box of these frozen "SuperPretzels":
 
We loved these things! They were fast, easy and satisfying. Though not necessarily 30-seconds fast like the "SuperPretzel", I hope you'll find this week's recipe equally easy and satisfying!

Homemade Soft Pretzels
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 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

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.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

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.

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.

Spicy Cheese Sauce
slightly based on this recipe from Eating Well

Ingredients

• 5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups nonfat milk, divided
• 2/3 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese (I used Gouda Cheese instead)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard (I used Tony Chachere's Spicy Creole Seasoning instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (didn't have and instead used just the creole seasoning)
• Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional) (same as above)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk flour with 1/4 cup milk in a small bowl until smooth. Heat the remaining milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming. Add the flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in Cheddar, dry mustard, paprika, cayenne (if using) and salt.

 

Review:
I loved this recipe! Even though my oven's temperature crept up by about 25 degrees without my knowing it, the pretzels still turned out pretty good! A lovely texture on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Also, the cheese sauce, though a bit improvised, turned out great too. I liked it's smoky and spicy flavor thanks to the mix of Gouda and Tony Chachere's seasoning. Yum!

Happy summer, everyone!
Jen

P.S. For those of you who don't know Tony, this is his seasoning:

It's a versatile favorite in our house. : )