These Beer Batter Pretzel Sausages are fun little things. The pretzel beer batter gives it an interesting twist and I made the dough in my bread maker so it was a cinch to make.
I used the Dough cycle on my bread machine. Check your manual. My Dough cycle takes 1 ½ hours for the full cycle but you don't want this dough to go through the full final rise. My machine goes 5 minutes for the first knead, a 5 minute rise and a second 20 minute knead. I pulled it out after the 20 minute knead.
The recipe calls for 3 ¼ cups of flour which is a bit less than the typical 3 ½ cups. But the dough is sticky so have about a ¼ of flour ready to flour your hands and the dough disc if necessary when you are cutting and shaping it. It will be a soft dough but you don't want it to stick to your hands. Use just enough flour to be able to work with it.
If you want to keep it kid-friendly you can switch out the beer for water. (Although the alcohol content cooks off).
What Kind of Sausages?
You have lots of choices here. Obviously German type sausages would be best so look for Oktoberfest Sausages, Knockwurst or Bratwurst. You could also go for Jumbo Hot Dogs.
I served them with German Potato Pancakes and Apple Onion Sauerkraut.
Wine Pairing with Beer Batter Pretzel Sausages
Oktoberfest food usually is a foil for beer so if you are beer lover -go for it!
If wine is your thing I would go with something crisp and light here with good acid - like a Pinot Grigio, a Vinho Verde or unoaked Chardonnay.
Red lovers- look for German Pinot Noir called Spatburgunder.
Beer Battered Pretzel Sausages
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Save Print Pin FacebookIngredients
- 12 oz beer or substitute water
- 2 Tbsps honey
- 3 ¼ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup baking soda
- water to fill a dutch oven
- 1 large egg
- coarse sea salt for sprinkling
- caraway seeds for sprinkling optional
- 8 German sausages or jumbo hot dogs Like Oktoberfest, Bratwurst or Knockwurst
Instructions
- Start a dutch oven of water on the stove so it can come to a boil while you are working with the dough. Leave a few inches of clearance from the top.
- Warm beer (or water) in microwave to about 110 degrees. Do not overheat or it will kill the yeast. It should feel tepid/warm to the touch. Add honey and mix thoroughly.
- Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.
- Add the ingredients to your bread machine in the order recommended by your manufacturer. Mine is liquid, then dry ingredients and then yeast sprinkled on top.
- Set to the dough cycle. Let it go through the first and second knead but stop it and pull the dough out before the final rise.
- Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Have the extra flour ready on the counter. Flour your hands and the dough disc as required so it doesn't stick to your hands and you can work with it. Remove dough from the machine after the second knead. Divide the dough in half, then quarters. Then halve the quarters so you end up with 8 equal dough portions.
- Roll each portion between your hands or on the counter until you get a 12 inch rope.
- Wind the rope around each sausage and pinch the end to seal it to the wrapped dough. Set them on the parchment paper on the baking sheet.
- Bring the water to a vigorous boil and add the baking soda. Stand back because the baking soda will make a small 'explosion' when the sausage hits the water.
- Add one wrapped sausage at a time to the boiling water. Only add 2-3 at a time so they are not crowded. Allow them to boil about 1 minute. (They will start to float to the top.)
- Remove them with a slotted spoon and position back on the parchment paper.
- Beat the egg lightly with a fork. Brush egg wash over the top of the pretzel dough. Sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt and a pinch of caraway seeds.
- Bake about 13 minutes till dough is puffy and golden brown. Check after 10 minutes. If dough is getting too dark cover loosely with a sheet of foil.
- Remove and serve with mustard.
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