I come from a very Irish and German family, and we tend to celebrate our heritage with friends, family, and food! In honor of Oktoberfest, I decided to make these homemade soft pretzels with beer cheese sauce to bring to my in-laws’ house. I am a HUGE soft pretzel fan, but don’t find many excuses or opportunities to indulge. These ended up tasting pretty darn good, especially dipped in the creamy, ooey-gooey beer cheese sauce. They hit the spot and were perfect for watching football!
Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda
Instructions
- Warm the milk in a saucepan too approximately 110°F. Pour into medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let sit for 2 minutes, then stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup of flour with a wooden spoon. Dice the butter and soften. Add butter to the mix, as well as 1¼ cup flour and salt, and mix until the dough is combined.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth (about 5 minutes). Shape into a bowl and place in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until it doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside. Punch the dough and turn onto a slightly floured surface. Split the dough into 6 pieces. Roll and stretch the dough into 30-inch ropes. Form each rope into a pretzel shape.
- Warm the water and pour into a shallow baking dish. Dissolve the baking soda in the water and gently dip each pretzel into the solution. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden; 9 to 11 minutes.
