Since we don’t have snow in Namibia, I guess it’s ok for our Christmas dinner tables to look a little different too. So, here is a soft beer pretzel nugget recipe for the Festive Season.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle castle light
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- topping:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- Coarse salt, optional (but really, this is a must)
Directions
- In a small saucepan, heat beer to 110°-115°; remove from heat. Stir in yeast until dissolved. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, salt, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
- Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425°. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape into 8 balls. Roll each into a 12-in. rope. Cut each rope into 1-in. pieces.
- In a Dutch oven, bring 10 cups water and baking soda to a boil. Drop nuggets, 12 at a time, into boiling water. Cook for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain well on paper towels.
- Place on greased baking sheets. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to a wire rack to cool.
- Freeze cooled pretzel nuggets in airtight containers. To use, thaw at room temperature or, if desired, microwave on high 20-30 seconds or until heated through.
