pretzel dogs

pretzel dogs. how much more do i really need to say? i started out with a freshly made vegan italian sausages (from the recipe in vegan brunch) and wrapped it up in pretzely goodness. after a quick boil and 13 minutes in the oven these puppies were perfectly golden brown, soft and chewy. when they went into the oven i was a little concerned that they wouldn't turn out like a pretzel but rather as an oversized pig-in-a-blanket, but nope! these were pretzel dogs all the way!

serve with dipping the sauces of your choice, i alternated between horseradish ketchup and grainy mustard.

the recipe below will make enough dough for 8 dogs and can easily be halved. my rising time was at least 30 minutes longer than the recipe says but i was also a little short on yeast, i don't think these two factors are unrelated.

pretzel dogs
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/4 teaspoons (or one packet) yeast
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons margarine, melted
water and baking soda, for boiling

combine water, sugar and salt in a bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. allow to sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy.

add flour and melted margarine and mix until combined. knead (by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook) about 7 minutes until a smooth dough forms. place in an oiled bowl to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.

preheat oven to 450. and lightly grease a baking sheet. bring a pot of water with a hefty pour of baking soda mixed in to a boil. while you're waiting for the water you can wrap your dogs!

cut the dough into 4 pieces and roll each out into a long rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. cut each rectangle in half so you have 8 long strips of dough. starting at one end of the dog, wrap the dough tightly around, covering the whole doggie.

boil each pretzel dough for 30 seconds, place on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt. bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.

-d