Thursday, June 2, 2011

Whole Wheat Pretzel Bites


Last night I decided I wanted a simple salad for dinner because I was snacking on Amish Friendship Bread ALL day! Because I am one of those people that just can't eat one thing for a meal, I have to have a "side dish" or "appetizer" or it doesn't feel like a meal, I decided to try these whole wheat pretzel bites I have been wanting to make for awhile. All I can say is, Why did I wait so long? YUM! These are yummy and very addicting, thankfully I made a half batch and froze the other half of the dough for later or it would have made way too many pretzel bites for just me and the hubby! These are delicious dipped in mustard or ranch or if I would've wanted to get real crazy I could've made cheese sauce! Make these for dinner or for a snack when company is coming over and you will be glad you did!

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 TBS. light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp. (or 1 package) active dry yeast
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
Olive oil 
Enough Water to fill a large pot 3/4 full 
3/4 cup baking soda
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbs. cold water
Kosher salt or Sea Salt for Sprinkling
Mustard, Ranch or preferred dipping sauce 




Directions:
1.  Using the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar, yeast and butter.  Mix until combined and let sit for 5 minutes.  Add the salt and 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour and mix on low speed, using dough hook, until blended together.  Increase the speed to medium and knead dough until it is smooth and begins to pull away from sides of the bowl, about 3-4 minutes. (You can also knead by hand if you don't have a stand mixer).  If dough appears too wet add flour, 1 tbs. at a time.  Remove the dough from the hook and shape into ball.  Place in a bowl lightly coated with oil, and turn dough to evenly coat with oil.  Cover with a cloth and place in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until dough doubles in size (I did this step and let it sit for about 4-5 hours, so that I could make sure the pretzel bites were made when it was time for dinner and it worked great for me).

2.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bring the water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.  Add in the baking soda.

3.  Meanwhile, dived the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a long, thin rope (somewhere between about 15-55 inches, depending on size).  Place dough on a flat surface and cut into one inch pieces.  Repeat for all of the dough.  Working in small batches (about 15 pieces at a time), place the dough in the boiling water solution for about 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto a baking sheet, that has been coated with cooking spray.  Make sure dough pieces are not touching.

4.  Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.  Bake 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove and place on a baking rack; let cool for 5 minutes then serve with mustard (or other dipping choice) and enjoy! 

As I stated in the post, I made the whole dough recipe and then after it was done rising, I took half the dough and froze it in a freezer bag. This is a great trick for feeding just 2 people! When I am ready to use the dough in the freeze I will take out the plastic bag and soak in hot water in the sink for a few minutes and it will be thawed! 

Original Post from: http://www.simplylifeblog.com


1 comment:

  1. This looks so good!!! Thanks for the pic and recipe! I hope there's leftovers lol. And that is a good idea to freeze half. Half the calories and half for later! :)

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