Wasabi & Beer Pretzels Two Ways

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My mom and I differentiate spice by tongue-burn and nose-burn. Wasabi goes in the nose-burn category which makes it one of her favorite condiments. She loves nose-burn spice.

I felt inspired today to add it to something. I went looking through our cupboards and found some cans of beer that have been in there for months, and boom, my pretzel idea was born.

I thought about calling these “Super Happy Samurai Ninja Pretzels”, or maybe “Beer-Belly Sumo Wrestler Pretzels”, but decided that these names were both too long and not descriptive enough.

This recipe is for either hard or soft pretzels, depending on what you like. My family likes both so I did half and half.

I think these were too much of a hit in my house because they were nearly gone in about 10 minutes, no joke. They don’t have a ton of heat so if you like the burn, add more wasabi. You can also dip in wasabi paste or horseradish mustard for some serious sinus clearing.

Wasabi & Beer Pretzels Two Ways

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 3 hours

Yield: 36 Hard Pretzels, 16 Small Soft Pretzels, or 8 Large Soft Pretzels

Wasabi & Beer Pretzels Two Ways

Ingredients

12 ounces (1 can) beer
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder (or more to taste)
4 - 4 1/2 cups flour
water for boiling
1 teaspoon baking soda (for soft pretzels)
1 egg yolk plus 2 tablespoons water
pretzel salt

Instructions

In a small saucepan, heat beer to 110°-115° F; remove from heat. Stir in yeast until dissolved. In large bowl combine butter, sugar, salt, wasabi, and 3 cups flour. Add remaning flour as needed until dough forms a ball (the dough will be a little sticky from the beer). Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Grease a medium bowl and place dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

For Soft Pretzels:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Fill wide pot about 1/3 of the way with water and add baking soda; bring to a boil. Line 2 half sheet baking pans with parchment and grease; line a third with paper towels. Divide dough into balls: 8 for large pretzels and 16 for small pretzels. Stretch pretzels into ropes and twist into pretzels. Dip pretzels 1 or 2 at a time into boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Remove to paper towel lined pan. Repeat until all pretzels are boiled. Place pretzels on parchment lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Mix egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water; brush over tops of pretzels and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown; remove and cool.

For Hard Pretzels:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Fill wide pot about 1/3 of the way with water; bring to a boil. Line 3 half sheet baking pans with parchment and grease; line a fourth with paper towels. Divide dough into about 36 balls. Stretch balls into ropes about 5 inches long. Dip pretzels 1 or 2 at a time into boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Remove to paper towel lined pan. Repeat until all pretzels are boiled. Place pretzels on parchment lined pans about 1/4 inch apart. Mix egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water; brush over tops of pretzels and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown; remove and cool.

Notes

Be sure to grease parchment well or they will stick (I learned the hard way).

http://gringalicious.com/wasabi-beer-pretzels-two-ways/