Black Truffle Sea Salt Pretzel Bites and Sicilian Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Did you guys know that I also have another business with my favorite chef in the world, Alli Weishaus? I do! I am so fortunate that I get to work with this wonderful human and incredible talent. We call our business "Turnip The Flavor." This past fall we were hired by "The Filling Station" to make 700 pretzel bites and nearly two gallons of Sicilian Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce for the New York City Food and Wine Festival.

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Was this an ambitious goal? YES. We had never made THAT many pretzel bites before, but we love working together and the co-owner of The Filling Station, Megan Cariola, is a life-long friend of mine, so I wanted to come through for her and deliver her the goods. If it wasn't for my job working at her olive oil shop in 2007, I don't believe that I ever would have thought to become a chef someday.

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Alli and I did a test run a week before the event and Meg came over to give us her seal of approval. We all swooned one pretzel bite after the next... we must have eaten about a dozen each. We make some minor tweaks and came up with the recipe posted below.

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It took me and Alli an entire day, 60 mess up pretzels, several glasses of wine, a visit from my mom with baking soda, many dance moves and excellent harmonizing, but WE DID IT... we pumped out all those bites and containers of dip. Alli was really the mastermind behind the dip, so mad props to Al for pulling through on that.

When Alli and I cook together for dinner parties, she is in charge of all of the animal protein and I am the veggie queen, so if you or anyone you know are interested in hiring us for your next event, let us know! We always have the BEST time with our clients and make the night incredibly special.

These pretzel bites are great for your upcoming holiday parties for guests to nosh on and knock their socks off at the same time.

Black Truffle Sea Salt Pretzel Bites and Sicilian Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Recipe Type: Snack

Author:

Michele Wolfson Broder

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1 package active dry yeast

  • 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups

  • 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

  • Vegetable oil, for pan

  • 10 cups water

  • 2/3 cup baking soda

  • 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

  • Pretzel salt

Instructions

  1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

  2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

  3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

  4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

  5. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.