Soft Pretzels with Beer Cheese Dip

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Chewy, deep-mahogany soft pretzels made the honest way: a short knead, a rolling baking-soda bath, and a hot oven. While they bake, a five-minute stovetop beer cheese comes together from a butter-flour roux, a splash of lager, and hand-grated sharp cheddar. Salty, glossy, and ridiculously good warm.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110°F)
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (one packet)
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 22 oz)
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• neutral oil, for the bowl

• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp coarse pretzel salt or flaky sea salt
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (for brushing after baking)

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup lager or amber ale, room temperature
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 8 oz sharp cheddar, hand-grated
• 2 oz Gruyère or Monterey Jack, hand-grated
• kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• hot sauce, a few dashes (optional)

Instructions

1. Stir the warm water and brown sugar together in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let it sit 5 minutes until foamy. Add the flour, fine sea salt, and melted butter, and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
2. Knead on a lightly floured counter for 6 to 8 minutes (or 5 minutes on medium-low in a stand mixer with the dough hook) until the dough is smooth, elastic, and only slightly tacky. Add flour a tablespoon at a time only if it sticks badly.
3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 50 to 60 minutes, until roughly doubled.
4. Heat the oven to 450°F and line two sheet pans with parchment. Lightly grease the parchment — pretzel dough after the soda bath is clingy.
5. Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 equal pieces (about 4.5 oz each). Roll each piece into a rope 22 to 24 inches long, working from the center outward. If a rope springs back, let it rest 2 minutes and try again.
6. Shape each rope into a U, cross the ends over each other twice, then fold the twist down onto the bottom of the U and press the tips firmly into the dough. Set the shaped pretzels on the pans.
7. Bring the 10 cups of water to a boil in a wide 5-quart pot, then add the baking soda a big spoonful at a time — it will foam hard. Reduce to a steady simmer.
8. Lower pretzels into the bath one or two at a time using a wide slotted spatula and simmer 30 seconds, flipping once at 15 seconds. Lift, let drain well, and return to the parchment. Do not skip the draining — puddles make soggy bottoms.
9. Brush each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with coarse pretzel salt. Bake 13 to 16 minutes, rotating the pans halfway, until deeply browned like a chestnut. Brush the hot pretzels with melted butter.
10. While they bake, make the beer cheese: melt 3 tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook 1 minute until it smells nutty but is still pale.
11. Whisk in the milk in a slow stream, then the beer, and bring to a bare simmer, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat a spoon.
12. Pull the pan off the heat. Whisk in the Dijon, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and Worcestershire, then add the grated cheeses in three handfuls, whisking each until fully melted before adding the next. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.
13. Serve the pretzels warm with the beer cheese in a bowl alongside. Tear, dip, repeat.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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