The Monks Who Created Pretzels
And a recipe for pretzels with Gochujang nacho cheese dip and miso honey mustard.
If you are new to the community, welcome! If you want to be a part of our food community, make sure you subscribe for access to recipes, culinary history, and cooking classes.
Pretzels are the perfect salty or “thirsty” snack, but the pretzel’s real origins are quite surprising. Legend traces pretzels to medieval Europe, where Italian monks reportedly created treats to reward school children for remembering their prayers, hence the dough’s shape. The tradition spread through Europe, and pretzels became associated with good luck and eternal love. By the 1600s, countries such as Switzerland reportedly used pretzels in wedding ceremonies to symbolize the matrimonial bond, or “tying the knot.”
In Germany—the country and people most associated with the pretzel throughout history—17th-century children wore pretzel necklaces on New Year’s to symbolize good luck and prosperity for the coming year.
Although it’s not the beginning of a new year, there is always room for more love and good treats this week.
Pretzels with Gochujang Nacho Cheese and Pickled Honey Mustard
Ingredients:
For the pretzels:
600 grams of unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting
40 grams of honey
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
55 grams of rye flour
12 grams of kosher salt
3 grams of instant yeast
100 grams of unsalted butter, diced into ½-inch cubes
40 grams of food-grade lye (also sold as sodium hydroxide)
flake or pretzel salt, to finish
pickled honey mustard, to serve
gochujang nacho cheese, to serve
For the nacho cheese:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour (rice flour for gluten-free)
480 grams of milk
2 tablespoons gochujang flakes
249 grams of aged cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp salt, more to taste
1 tsp turmeric
For the miso honey mustard dip:
340 grams brown mustard
3 tsp honey
1 tsp hot mustard powder
2 tablespoons of sweet white miso
Pinch of salt
Pickled mustard seeds, for garnish *optional
Directions:
For the pretzels:
Make the dough: Place the honey, egg, egg yolk, and 355 ml of water heated to 65°F into the bottom of a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flours, salt, yeast, and cubed butter. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and knead on low for 2 minutes until a shaggy mass begins to come together. Increase to medium and continue mixing for 4 minutes until a dense, sticky dough is formed. Place a dry kitchen towel directly on the surface of the dough and rest for 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
Make the lye solution: Pour 900 ml of room temperature water into a metal bowl. Using latex gloves, portion lye into a small container. Gently shear into the water, stirring with a wooden or stainless steel spoon until crystals are completely dissolved, about 60 seconds. Carefully cover with plastic wrap and set aside until ready for use. DO NOT touch with bare skin.* If you don’t want to use lye, you can substitute it with a baking soda solution.
Meanwhile, transfer the cold dough to a clean surface dusted lightly with flour. Use a bench knife and food scale to portion the dough into 12 (90-gram) pieces. Lightly dust a baking tray with flour. Using firm, even pressure, pre-shape each dough portion into 5-inch long snakes and place them on a floured tray. This length does not need to be exact, this step is to introduce an initial shape to the dough. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
Transfer 5 of the ropes from the tray to your shaping surface. Return the remaining portions to the refrigerator. The dough is easiest to shape when well chilled. Working with one piece of dough at a time, extend the dough to a 20-24-inch length, tapering the ends slightly and keeping the middle the thickest part of the rope. Draw the tips upward in a U shape and cross over twice to form the twist. Bring the ends down to the base of the U and press down firmly to affix.
Line 3 baking trays with parchment or silicone mats and coat thoroughly with nonstick spray. Carefully transfer the shaped pretzels to the tray and pop them into the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining pretzels until all are shaped and in the freezer.
Heat the oven to 400°F and carefully uncover the lye solution. Remove 1 tray of semi-frozen pretzels from the freezer. If pretzels are frozen, defrost at room temperature until just beginning to soften. Using latex or dish gloves and tongs, pick up 1 pretzel and dunk it in a lye bath for 10 seconds. Flip and continue submerging for 10 more seconds. Lift out of the bath and drain off excess liquid, then transfer back to the sprayed tray. (if using baking soda solution, submerge pretzels for a full minute.) Top with flake or pretzel salt and repeat with all remaining pretzels.
Bake trays in the middle and bottom racks of the oven until puffed and dark shiny brown, about 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Immediately after baking, use a spatula to transfer pretzels to a cooling rack. Pretzels are best eaten the day they’re made.
For the nacho cheese dip:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it foams and just starts to turn a light golden brown color.
Sprinkle in the flour, mix it into butter and cook until it’s a light golden brown color, about 2-4 minutes.
Add the milk, mix, bring to a simmer, and cook until the sauce thickens a bit, about 2-3 minutes.
Add gochujang and mix before mixing in the cheese and cooking until it melts.
For the honey mustard dip:
Mix together all the ingredients. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Have a dish we should explore the history of next? Leave your ideas in the comments below.