Nothing beats a soft pretzel but when combined with this cheesy sauce, it’s pure food magic.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 50 min |
| Active: | 50 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for kneading
- 2 teaspoons (6 grams) instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (125 milliliters) whole or 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons (34 grams) honey
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, plus more for the bowl
- 6 1/2 cups (1625 milliliters) water
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 6 tablespoons (72 grams) baking soda
- 1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon water, lightly beaten, for an egg wash
- Coarse or flaky salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup (125 milliliters) whole or 2% milk
- 1/3 cup (83 milliliters) light flavored beer, such as a lager or pilsner
- 1/4 cup (62 grams) cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup (120 grams) grated Cheddar
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- For the pretzel knots: Whisk together the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl until well combined.
- Combine the milk, honey and melted butter in a small saucepan. Heat until warm and add 1/2 cup (125 milliliters) of the water. Since you’re working with yeast, you want the mixture to be around body temperature so if your milk mixture is a bit on the hot side, add cooler water to bring the temperature down. If your mixture is body temperature or a bit warmer, add water around the same temperature.
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir into a shaggy dough. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a plate or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Heat your oven to 425 degrees F and line two large sheet pans with parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 10-inch rope. Tie into knots, tuck the ends underneath and transfer to the prepared sheet pan. Drape the formed pretzels with the clean kitchen towel and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Combine the remaining 6 cups (1500 milliliters) of water with the baking soda in a large straight-sided sauté pan or saucepot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Carefully add 4 of the pretzel knots to the boiling water and poach for 30 seconds, flipping halfway through. Using a slotted spoon, remove the poached pretzel knots from the water and return to the prepared baking sheet. Continue until all of the pretzels have been poached.
- Lightly brush the tops of each pretzel with a little of the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake until deeply golden brown and cooked through, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow the pretzels to cool before serving. Meanwhile, make the beer cheese dip.
- For the beer cheese: Melt the butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add in the flour and whisk for about 1 minute to combine and toast the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk followed by the beer. Add in the cream cheese, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire and garlic powder, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Slowly add in the Cheddar and whisk until fully combined, then season with salt and keep warm over low heat until ready to serve with the pretzel knots.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 285 |
| Total Fat | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 45 mg |
| Sodium | 2102 mg |
Reviews
Wow! This was easy just like it said but it still made me feel like a rock star! They came out perfectly!
Just made this recipe. First time making pretzels. They were a hit and the beer cheese was so good!!
Thank you Mary!!
Thank you Mary!!
Wow! I just made these and they are so good! I used bread flour. They have a slightly crisp exterior and chewy interior. They are very light. Sad it only made twelve as they are disappearing too quickly. I did not make the beer cheese though – will try that next time.
I made these pretzel knots today and they came out wonderfully. They were absolutely decadent. I had never made pretzel bread before and was pleasantly surprised at how easy Mary’s recipe came together. I followed the recipe and instructions exactly as written. The beer cheese dip is the perfect accompaniment… Don’t skip it!
This was my first attempt at pretzel making and they turned out great!! The only difference from the recipe was that we only needed to bake for 15 minutes – I guess our oven runs hot? Did not try the beer cheese sauce yet, saving that for our Super Bowl party. Wanted to practice the pretzels first. They are great served just with mustard.
These were by far the best pretzels and beer cheese sauce I have ever had. I’ve been making pretzels for years, doing one recipe after the next to find the perfect one and this is it!! I did make several tweeks, just based on my past experiences. I used 1 1/2 cup bread flour and 1 cup ap flour. 1 tbs agave and 1 tbs honey. Olive oil (light coating) instead of butter to grease the bowl. I baked my baking soda in a 275* oven for an hour and used 1/2 cup baked soda to 2 cups warm water letting the pretzels sit in the bath for 3 minutes, then put them in plain water to rinse off the residue of the bath. Only salted the ones I knew we were going to eat right away, otherwise the salt will “melt” on them and make the tops all soggy. When reheating them, brush with egg white and add the salt and bake at 350* for 3 minutes. The beer cheese sauce has an awesome consistency and stays nice even at room temperature. Can’t wait to serve them for Super Bowl party!!! Highly recommend!!!
I made this today. It’s so delicious and easy to make.
I don’t have instant yeast. How do I use active dry yeast in this recipe?