Sift, schmift.

Mini Pretzel Dogs

Hi, Friends! Been awhile since I posted, but I figured since it's summer again I might as well get back into the swing of things now that I have time. Aye-yooo!!

Gonna start where I left off, I suppose. I made these way long ago but never posted about them.The process is simple, and it's super fun to involve kids. Seriously, the kids totally dig working with dough, especially when they get to eat their own creations! These are also fun because you can serve them with a variety of dipping sauces, get creative! Spiced ketchup and fancy mustards, cheese sauces, etc.

Oh, and beer, of course.

...For you, not the kids.

Don't you just wanna sink your teeth right into one of these things right now??

Recipe!

Mini Pretzel Dogs

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package dry active yeast
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt (or kosher salt), for topping
• 8 hot dogs, cut in half

Instructions

1. Combine the warm water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is foamy and begins to smell of yeast.
2. Add the flour and butter to the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and, on medium-low speed, combine the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and appears shiny, roughly 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray (or lightly grease with vegetable oil) and place dough in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm area and let dough rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper with non-stick spray. Set aside.
5. In a large pot, bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a roiling boil.
6. Place the dough on a greased surface, and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, roughly 12 inches long. Carefully wrap each piece around a half hot dog. Pinch the ends together to seal the dough.
7. Boil the shaped pretzels and pretzel dogs, one at a time, in the baking soda water for 30 seconds each. Using a slotted spatula, remove each pretzel dog from the water and place it on a drying rack to allow any extra baking soda mixture to drip off.
8. Place the boiled pretzel dogs back on a parchment lined baking sheets.
9. Brush with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with pretzel or kosher salt.
10. Bake until golden brown, roughly 14 to 15 minutes. Transfer pretzel dogs to a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving. Serve with a variety of mustards.

Recipe courtesy of http://fakeginger.com/

I hope you give these a try, they're pretty addictive and people will be way impressed.