Soft Beer Pretzels with Cheese Sauce
Pretzels Active Dry Yeast 1 Tbs
Sugar ¼ cup
Northwinds Beer Of Your Choice warmed, 1 ½ cups
All-Purpose Flour 4 ½ cups
Salt 2 tsp Vegetable Oil 1 Tbs
Old Cheddar Cheese (optional) cubed,
¾ cup
Baking Soda 2 Tbs Butter 2 Tbs, melted Rock Salt 1 Tbs
Cheese Sauce Butter ¼ cup
Onion ½ , finely diced
Garlic 2 cloves, minced
All-Purpose Flour ¼ cup
Homogenized Milk 3.5%, 2 cups
Old Cheddar Cheese shredded, 1 cup
Whipping Cream 3.5%, ¼ cup
Salt and Pepper pinch each
1 IN a large bowl, dissolve yeast and half of the sugar in the warmed beer. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2 STIR in 3 cups of the flour, salt, oil and remaining sugar until smooth, thick batter. Turn out onto floured surface and knead, adding as much of the remaining flour, ¼ cup at a time, as needed, until smooth, elastic and firm dough forms, about 10 minutes. Fold in cheese, if using.
3 DIVIDE dough in half and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel. Using fingertips, gently roll one half of the dough into a 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick rope. Cut rope crosswise into 5 inch (12 cm) lengths. Place pieces on parchment paper-lined rimless baking sheet and cover with a clean tea towel. Repeat with remaining dough. Let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4 IN a large pot, bring 8 cups water and baking soda to a boil. Working in batches, blanch pretzels for 20–30 seconds. Using slotted spoon, return pretzels to parchment paper-lined rimless baking sheet.
5 BAKE in 375°F oven until golden brown and cooked through, 18–20 minutes. Transfer to rack and let cool briefly. Brush with butter and sprinkle with rock salt.
6 CHEESE SAUCE: Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic until softened, about 6 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and bring to simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Gradually whisk in cheese until smooth. Whisk in cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pretzels.