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Pretzel Bites with Cheese and Beer Sauce

Course Appetizer
Difficulty Low
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Proofing time 1 hour
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 20 -30 pretzel bites
Author Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 350 g all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 g instant dry yeast or 12g dry non-instant yeast or 24g fresh yeast*
  • 240 ml lukewarm milk can be lactose-free
  • 20 g unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
  • vegetable oil to cover the dough

For the bicarbonate of soda coating

  • 750 ml hot water
  • 4 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

For painting the pretzel bites

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp water
  • Toasted sesame seeds

For the cheese sauce

  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 100 ml beer
  • 120 ml milk
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp onion powder
  • 1/8 tsp paprika
  • 150 g cheddar cheese

Instructions

For the dough

  1. Put all the ingredients in a stand mixer's bowl and use the hook accessory to mix them up. Knead on the machine for 10min. If you're doing whits by hand then you need to knead for 15min.
  2. Form a ball with the dough, cover in vegetable oil and let rest covered with a kitchend cloth so it can proof. This will take 60-90min or until you nee it's doubled in size. Ideally leave the dough in a warm place such as inside your oven with the light on or on top of the fridge.
  3. Knock out the air from the dough and divide in 6 more or less equal pieces.

  4. Stretch each piece making a snake-like shape. From that cut the pillows that will make our pretzel bites. At all times keep the dough as well as the bites under a kitchen cloth to prevent them from drying out.

  5. Let proof 15min covered on the counter top.

For the bicarbonate of soda coating

  1. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the water and dip a few pretzel pieces at a time for a couple of seconds.

  2. Transfer them onto a baking tray with silpat or baking paper (ideally silpat). 

To paint the pretzel bites

  1. Paint them with the egg and water mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

  2. They go into a preheated oven at 200C por 8-10min or until golden.

For the cheese and beer sauce

  1. Melt the butter in a pot and add the flour. Let boil for a minute while you whisk constantly.

  2. Add the beer and whisk together. Let boil while whisking until few liquid is left behind.

  3. Add the milk and stir again until it starts to boil.

  4. Add the cheese as well as the other ingredients and mix until fully integrated. Taste and adjust salt level.

Recipe Notes

*If not using instant yeast first mix the yeast with the lukewarm milk and sugar and let rest for 10min. If you don't see bubbles after this time the yeast has died and you need to use a new one.