You know what I’ve decided is stupid? Well, there is actually a whole list of things that I could answer with here, but currently on my mind is the fact that it takes me like ten times as long to write something as it does to read it. No, like twenty times. Why does it take me so long and is it that way for everyone?
‘Cause if you tell me that you can sit down and write the most elaborate thoughts out with no effort at all then we really can’t be friends. Yeah, better not to tell me if that’s the case.
I keep thinking one of these days I’ll get better at it since I’ve been writing almost everyday for over a year, but no. Nada, zilch. I don’t know what I was thinking when I started this thing. I mean, I’ve never been a great writer so why did I think that would change? Oh yeah, it was the cookies. The cookies made me do it, (grabs tissue and blows nose loudly while sobbing dramatically), I’m only in this for the food! I still have a little hope left that I could improve though. Just maybe.
So these pretzels you guys, they are so good. Have you ever heard of Snyders of Hanover? Apparently they are popular enough in this world to have made there way onto the store shelves here so you probably have. We don’t have many of the things that I always considered “American classics” down here but somehow my mom found Snyder’s honey mustard and onion pretzels on the shelves here and that, ladies and gents, was the inspiration for this here recipe.
I thought of trying to make an exact copycat recipe but then I remembered my good old sourdough starter. That’s right, I said old. It just celebrated its 6 month birthday and I’m a very proud mama, yay! I know, you’re probably about to start pointing me in the right direction of the nearest loony bus, but I have a right to be proud. I have managed to keep up with a sourdough starter for half a year and I didn’t think that was possible for me. How I haven’t killed it yet is beyond me but it’s still doing its sour thing and I continue to find unique ways to use it. If you’ve ever wanted to do sourdough I say now is as good a time as any. Just do it.
I’ve done all kinds of things with it, pancakes, waffles, bagels, buns, and a bunch of things that I haven’t shared here on the blog. Six months is a long time to experiment peeps. I thought these were worth sharing since they were so popular in my gang. I actually sort of cheated by slightly adapting my bagel recipe because it was such a good one. I’ll admit, I do that a lot with my favorite recipes. Guilty.
The dip is super easy, like minutes easy, and it goes perfectly with these crunchy snacks. These never made it to any kind of gathering but I’m planning to make them again for the next one we have, and I’d imagine they would be perfect for your next one too! Who doesn’t love a good crunchy pretzel?
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup room temp milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 1/2 - 3 cups all purpose flour
- coarse sea salt
- 1/3 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
Instructions
- Combine yeast, milk, and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add salt, starter, and oil and mix well. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add 2 1/2 cups of flour until the dough comes together (add a little more flour if it's sticky). Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes then turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Place back in a greased bowl and cover with plastic, then place in warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough 5 times (first in half and then divide each half in half and so on) until you have 32 equal balls. Stretch each ball into skinny snakes (about 9'') and place them on baking trays lined with parchment, about 1 inch apart.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C) and bring a pot filled with about 4 inches of water to a boil. Lay a clean towel on a tray, or counter top next to pot.
- Meanwhile, take each pretzel "snake" and bring the ends together to meet, then twist both sides together and place back on tray.
- When water begins to boil, dip a few Pretzels at a time into water and boil on each side for about 20 seconds. Remove to towel for a moment to absorb excess water, then place back on tray. Repeat with all pretzels until done. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, turning them halfway through baking, until dark golden brown and stiff. Remove from oven and cool.
- Combine all ingredients for dip in a large bowl (or you can use a food processor) and stir well until combined. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
I could totally and completely eat these pretzels and nothing else for dinner = the honey mustard onion dip counts as a vegetable, right? 🙂
Omg, me too! Let’s make it a dinner date, we’ll eat this for dinner and then down entire pints of Ben & Jerry’s!
What an awesome snack! Love that everything is homemade 🙂
Me too, girlfriend!
These look absolutely delicious and a fun activity here today where it’s raining (and silly me I took a vacation day today). Oh well, these should be fun to do with my girlies.
I hope you get the chance to try them!
These pretzels loom delicious and I could eat that honey mustard onion dip with a spoon. I feel you on the writing too! Can we just eat cookies and post pictures?!
Totally!
Love this!!! I’ve never intentionally made hard bread at home, but I think it’s time for me to try! Especially with this dip…
I hope you enjoy it if you do!
OMG I am so in love with pretzels, and made of sourdough its just perfect, and all that creamy mustard, I just love it.
Thanks!
These pretzels look awesome! Love the sauce! Pinned!
Thanks, Mira!
These are delicious! Made them this afternoon and we all love them. I am with you about being proud about my sourdough starter. My starter gets referred to as a she, and she might even have a name……..and it might be Zelda. 😉
Haha, that’s an awesome name for sourdough! Thanks Alison and I’m so happy that you liked this recipe!
Are you using the fed starter or the discarded starter? Adding yeast seems strange if you’re using starter. Is the yeast to make it rise faster, and the starter just for flavor?
Yeah, I do like using my starter only sometimes but to get a faster rise when I’m in a hurry I like to add the active dry yeast to speed things up. I’d love to hear how you like these if you try the recipe. Thanks Melissa!
What percent hydration is your starter?
Hi Lydia, thanks for reading. Hmmm… I’m honestly not sure what percentage my sourdough is. If I had to guess I’d say about 35 or 40%. I don’t know if that’s helpful or not but let me know if I can answer in other questions. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours this year!
First attempt today! Not pretty but they taste good!!
Oh, that’s great to hear. The “pretty” will improve with practice, but as you implied, it’s how they taste that matters.