Description
These delicious homemade pretzels are soft and golden with a crunchy coarse salt topping. Dip it into an easy homemade beer cheese for a perfect game day or party snack!
Ingredients
Scale
- Pretzels:
- 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 TBS vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 4 cups hot water
- Coarse kosher salt for topping
- Beer Cheese Dip:
- 1.5 cups grated sharp cheddar
- 0.5 cups grated mozzarella
- 8 oz. cream cheese (one block)
- 1.5 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup beer (any kind, but I used Guinness Golden Ale)
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Pretzels:
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1 1/4 cup of warm water. Let stand 10 minutes or until it looks foamy.
- In a mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, and salt. Add the oil and dissolved yeast mixture and stir until a dough is formed. If mixture is too wet or sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time until a smooth dough is formed, up to 4 cups.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead dough until nice and elastic, 5-8 minutes.
- Spray a clean mixing bowl with cooking spray or rub with oil. Place dough into the bowl, cover with a warm, damp dish towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a wide, shallow sauté pan over medium-high heat, dissolve baking soda in 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer.
- Turn risen dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope ~15 inches in length. Twist together the end of each rope and then fold the twisted end up toward the rest of the pretzel and place onto baking sheet.
- Once all pretzels have been shaped, use a wide slotted spatula and dip each pretzel into the hot baking soda mixture for about 5 seconds. Let the water drain out and replace pretzels on the baking sheet. Top pretzels immediately with a generous amount of coarse kosher salt.
- Bake in preheated oven until deep golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.
- Beer Cheese Dip:
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine all ingredients. Heat on medium-low heat until cheese starts to melt, stirring constantly.
- Continue to cook and stir until dip is hot and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve warm with pretzels.
- Prep Time: 90 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
