This weekend we celebrated Father's Day with my in-laws. My father-in-law loves these Jumbo Pretzels that I make with a honey mustard dip. So I decided it would be a nice gesture to make them as an appetizer before dinner. I went to my Pinterest page where I have the recipe saved, clicked the picture and the post had been deleted! Panic set in because I was pretty certain I had lost the recipe. I searched screen shots on my phone pulled out my old laptop and looked through pictures on my iCloud and FINALLY found a snippet of the recipe. Thankfully, I had made them so many times, I somewhat remembered the rest of the steps. Whew.
After this, I knew I had to write a blog post so I could keep the recipe safe. During football season, this is a go to appetizer in our house! These pretzels are so easy to make and are so soft. Also, this honey mustard dip would be good on really anything. So for your cooking pleasure, here is my quick and easy jumbo pretzel and honey mustard dip recipe:
Ingredients for the Pretzels
2.5 tsp of Dry Active Yeast (or 1 packet)
1 tsp of Granulated Sugar
1 cup of Warm Water
2.5 cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp of Salt
Topping:
1/2 cup of Warm Water*
1 tbsp of Baking Soda*
2 tbsp of Butter, melted
Kosher Salt for Sprinkling
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200*F.
2. Combine warm water (between 105-110*F), yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.While you let the yeast sit, combine the flour and salt into an electric mixer with a dough hook attached. After the yeast has foamed, pour the yeast mixture into the flour and turn on the mixer.
3. Let the mixer do it's job until a soft dough has formed. All of the flour will not mix so you will need to pour the dough onto a floured surface and kneed until a dough ball is formed.
5. Once your dough ball is formed, spray an oven safe dish with non-stick spray and place the dough in the dish. Place the dish into the preheated oven and shut the door. Turn off the oven and do not open the oven door for 30-40 minutes. Let the dough rise until it has almost doubled in size.
5. While the dough is rising this is your time to prep! Here are a few things you can do:
- Prep a jelly roll pan with parchment paper so it is ready to go for the baking process
- Prepare the Honey Mustard Sauce. See directions below.
- If you have a warm spot in your house that your dough can rise without using your oven, you can begin pre-heating your oven to 400*F for the baking process
6. After the dough has doubled in size, take the bowl out of the oven and punch the dough down. While the oven is empty, preheat the oven now to 400*F. Flour a surface on your counters and begin to separate the dough into 6-8 equal parts.
7. Now it's time to shape your pretzels! Take one of the equal parts and roll it on the counter until it forms a long, thin stick of dough. Gently fold the dough into a pretzel shape and place on your prepared baking sheet.*
8. Prepare your baking soda bath. Combine warm water and baking soda and dip each pretzel into the water mixture. Be sure every surface gets covered. This is what gives the pretzel it's nice brown color.
- I put an asterisk(*) by this step because I was in a rush this weekend and I did not do the baking soda bath. The pretzels turn out just fine without it but it is just like baking bread when you don't do it. No good pretzel crust forms.
9. Take the pretzels out of the baking soda bath and place back on the prepared baking sheet for 5-10 minutes to let rise one more time.
10. Once the oven is pre-heated, place the pretzels in the oven 10 minutes. If they still are not the color you want, cook no longer than 5 more minutes.
11. As soon as the pretzels come out of the oven, brush each pretzel with melted butter and sprinkle with kosher salt.
12. Either let the pretzels cool or serve warm with the honey mustard sauce that I will teach you to make next :) (see below)
Ingredients for Honey Mustard Sauce
3 tbsp of Mayonnaise
2 tbsp of Grainy Mustard
1 tbsp of Dijon Mustard
2.5 tbsp of Honey
1 tsp of Lemon Juice
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork or whisk.
2. Place bowl into the refrigerator and let it chill until ready to serve.
That's it!! Yes, the pretzels have a lot of steps and yes, you are using active yeast but do not be afraid of it. I used to be terrified to cook with yeast because I was afraid I would kill it and it would not rise. I promise if your water is within the 105-110*F temperature, it will work!
This recipe takes a total time of an hour and a half. Not the typical time you would think of for a yeast recipe either. It's very simple, quick and easy. This recipe makes 6-8 "jumbo" pretzels. Jumbo is relative because they are not HUGE but they are a decent size.
Also, this recipe cannot be doubled. The pretzel part that is. The dip can definitely be doubled but it makes quite a lot so you probably do not need to double it. But I have tried to double the dough a numerous of times and it has been a big fail. I have tried other recipes too that allow you to double but this one is my favorite. So I usually make a batch and then go back through the steps and make another batch. This appetizers is swiped clean of the plate before I can even look back to see if everyone is enjoying them. They are sure to be a hit with your family too!
What is your go to appetizer? Are you afraid to cook with yeast? What is your favorite pretzel topping or dipping sauce? Comment below and let me know!
Cheers,
Kayla
Comments