Bavarian Soft Preztel Rolls

Ice. Cold. Beer.

Sounds good on a hot summer day!

What goes better with beer than...Pretzels!

My husband and I have a good friend who does a lot of home brewing. He experiments with all kinds of flavors. He has even taken home a couple of pounds of our blackberries to try a new blackberry ale. We enjoy trying his different flavors and I thought that his dark amber ale would be great to make these pretzels with.

These delicious rolls can be eaten anytime and are delicious with warm melted cheese dip or sweet and spicy mustard. Enjoy!

Combine beer, sugar, 2 t. Kosher salt, milk and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir in 1 cup of wheat flour and melted butter and mix on medium-low until combined. Gradually continue adding white flour to make a stiff dough that cleans the bowl while mixing.

Change to the dough hook and knead on medium-low speed for about 8 minutes, adding more flour as needed for stickiness. The dough should not stick to the sides of the bowl, it should "clean the bowl."

Remove dough from bowl and wipe bowl clean, then spray the bowl with cooking spray. Shape dough into a smooth ball and place in prepared bowl. Spray the top of the dough lightly with cooking spray and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until double in size.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Shape pieces of dough into about 48 balls about the size of walnuts, pinching the bottom to seal, if necessary. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise again for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepot. Add rolls to water, about 10 at a time; boil until puffed {about 30 seconds on each side}, turning once. Drain onto a clean kitchen towel.

Place rolls on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Cut an X into the top of each roll with a pair of clean scissors. Sprinkle with a grind of coarse sea salt.

Bake for 15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Serve with your favorite cheese dip or sweet & spicy mustard.

Bavarian Soft Pretzel Bites
Yields: about 48 pretzel bites
Serving size: 4 pretzel bites
Calories: 185 ▪ Fat: 2g ▪ Carbs: 35g ▪ Dietary Fiber: 1g ▪ Protein: 5g

12 oz bottle (1 ½ C) dark amber ale, at room temperature
3 T brown sugar
2 T milk
1 T butter, melted
1 pkg (¼ oz) rapid-rise active dry yeast
1 C whole wheat flour
3 C white flour
2 t kosher salt
4 to 6 quarts water
½ C baking soda
Kosher salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepot. Add rolls to water, about 10 at a time; boil until puffed {about 30 seconds on each side}, turning once. Drain onto a clean kitchen towel. Place rolls on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Cut an X into the top of each roll with a pair of clean scissors. Sprinkle with a grind of coarse sea salt.

Bake for 15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.