Sugarhouse Pretzels with Maple Mustard

Some afternoons, neighbors stop by the sugarhouse with snacks or treats. When Maple Trout Lilli walks in we know the treat will be sublime – and something new to us since MTL is the Food Correspondent for the blog. She writes:

Sugarhouse Pretzels with Maple Mustard

These homemade, fresh, soft pretzels are buttery soft in texture, perfectly sweet and salty, and astonishingly simple to make: they require a quick kneading (by hand or in a mixer), a simple shaping, and no boiling. They are truly irresistible straight out of the oven.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 5 cups (640 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (8 grams) instant yeast
  1.5 teaspoons (9 grams) salt
  1/2 cup (110 grams) maple sugar
  1.5 cups (350 grams) warm water
  1 tablespoon (15 grams) neutral oil or olive oil

For finishing:

• 1/2 cup (115 g) baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and oil and stir with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Use your hands to knead the dough briefly in the bowl, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and continue kneading until the dough comes together and feels tacky to the touch, about a minute. Alternatively, you can do this all in your stand mixer, which will take roughly 3 minutes total. 

Place the dough back in the mixing bowl, cover with a towel or bowl cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour. Longer is fine, too. Dough will not necessarily double in volume. This is fine. 

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Turn dough out onto a work surface and portion into 12 pieces, using flour as needed if dough is sticky. Note: If you want identically sized pretzels, weigh your total dough, then divide by 12. (Each portion should roughly weigh 75 grams.) Also: Be careful about using too much flour here: it will make it difficult to roll out…just use a sprinkling to prevent the dough from sticking. 

Roll each portion into a 12-inch (roughly) log. You’ll roll each piece longer afterward, but the brief rest will allow the gluten to relax, making them easier to roll out longer later.

Once all the portions have been rolled, continue to roll each portion to 22 to 24 inches long. Twist each piece into a pretzel shape.  

When all of the pretzels are shaped, dissolve the 1/2 cup of baking soda in 4 cups of hot water. You can use hot tap water here or boil 4 cups of water — I’ve been using my electric kettle. Stir to dissolve the baking soda.

Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. 

Working with one pretzel at a time, drop it into the water. Use a spider to remove it and transfer it to a parchment-lined sheet pan. (Note: I like to drop the pretzel in top-side down, then I use the spider to remove it and flip it onto the sheet pan top-side up. I find dipping it top-side down ensures the top of the pretzel gets sufficiently coated in the baking-soda solution, which promotes more even browning.) Repeat until all pretzels have been dipped.

Sprinkle pretzels with salt or everything bagel seasoning.  Transfer pan — I like to bake one pan at a time — to the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. 

Remove pan from the oven and immediately brush the hot pretzels with the melted butter. Transfer pretzels to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining pan of pretzels. 

Let cool briefly. Serve warm. Pretzels reheat nicely — I love them halved, toasted, and spread with butter and maple onion mustard.

Maple Onion Mustard

Ingredients

• 1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, unpeeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400°F. Place the onion in a large ramekin or small baking dish and drizzle with oil. Roast until the onion is dark on the outside and soft on the inside, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely.

Peel and trim the onion. Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment or a blender. Process until the onion is puréed with a smooth texture, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the maple syrup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Process until the sauce is well-combined, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

-MTL

NOTE: This recipe calls for maple sugar which we at Nebraska Knoll call Maple Snow.