Soft Beer Pretzels with Beer Mustard
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 mins
- Yield: 12 pretzels 1x
Description
These pretzels are dense and chewy like classic Philadelphia soft pretzels, which pairs perfectly with the sweet and spicy beer mustard
Ingredients
FOR THE PRETZELS
- 1/4 cup (60ml) warm water (about 100-110°F or 38-43°C)
- 1 (1/4 oz) pkge active dry yeast or 2 1/4 tsp (1/4 oz)
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 cup (240ml) beer at room temperature
- 3 3/4 to 4 cups (469g-500g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (475ml) hot water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 egg, beaten
- Kosher salt
FOR THE MUSTARD
- 4TB yellow mustard seeds, divided
- 1TB black mustard seeds
- 6TB + 2 1/4tsp (100ml) beer
- 5TB (75ml) cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2TB (runny) honey
- 1TB dark muscovado sugar (or other dark brown sugar)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
Instructions
TO MAKE THE PRETZELS
- Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup of water and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour, sugar, olive oil, kosher salt, and beer to a large bowl. Add in the yeast and combine all together.
- Once combined, knead the dough for about 6-8 minutes or until nice and elastic. Put in a large, lightly-greased bowl, cover with a towel and allow to rest in a warm place until it doubles in size, or about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C)
- Then punch out the dough and maybe toss is around a couple more times (this also helps with the density.) Then split into 12 sections. Cover the sections you’re not working with so they don’t get crusty and dry.
- Roll out the each section so they’re about 3/4″ in diameter and about 16″ long. Form into the shape of a pretzel. Set aside and cover each one until you’re done with them all.
- Dissolve the baking soda in the 2 cups (475ml) of hot water. Dip each pretzel in the solution and then place the pretzel on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover them all and allow to rise for about 15-20 minutes.
- Brush each pretzel with the egg and sprinkle on the salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they are browned.
TO MAKE THE MUSTARD
- Take 2TB of the yellow mustard seeds and grind them into a powder using a spice or coffee bean grinder.
- Put the powder in a medium size non-metal bowl (enough to handle all of the ingredients) and add to that the remaining yellow mustard seeds and the black mustard seeds.
- Heat the beer, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, honey, brown sugar, turmeric, nutmeg, and salt in a non-reactive saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the liquid has reduced by about half.
- Pour the liquid over the mustard seeds in the bowl. Run the mixture through a food processor until it has achieved your desired consistency (the mixture will thicken up some in the refrigerator) leaving some whole seeds intact.
- Put the finished product in a sterilized Kilner jar (or other canning/glass jar.) I had a glass canister (with NO metal on it!!) that I dampened and microwaved for a minute or so to sterilize it–that should do the trick.
- Refrigerate and age for about 24-48 hours. If you’ve properly sterilized your jars, the mixture should last for several months in the refrigerator.
- Serve the soft beer pretzels with the beer mustard.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: German
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pretzel
- Calories: 270
If You Liked This Recipe, You’ll Love These
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- Stout Beer Brownies with Ganache
- 5 Principles for Baking with Craft Beer
Frequently Asked Questions
What does dipping the pretzels in a baking-soda solution do?
Dipping each formed pretzel in 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 2 cups of hot water gives the pretzels their characteristic chewy, brown crust — the alkaline bath causes a Maillard reaction faster than bread dough normally would, which is what separates a pretzel from a plain bread roll. After dipping, the pretzels rest 15–20 minutes before going into the 425°F oven.
Why does the recipe use beer in both the pretzels and the mustard?
In the pretzel dough, 1 cup of room-temperature beer replaces most of the water, contributing a yeasty, malty depth to the finished texture. In the mustard, 100 ml of beer is reduced by half with cider vinegar, honey, and dark muscovado sugar, creating a sweet-and-spicy condiment the recipe describes as pairing perfectly with the dense, chewy pretzels.
How long does the homemade beer mustard keep?
The mustard must be refrigerated and aged for 24–48 hours before serving so it can mellow and thicken. The recipe says if you sterilize your jars properly it will last for several months in the refrigerator — use a non-metal bowl and a sterilized glass jar, as the acid and mustard seeds can react with metal. 
Can I punch down and shape the pretzels right away, or does the dough need time to rise?
The dough needs to rest in a lightly greased bowl, covered, in a warm place until it doubles in size — about an hour. Only after that do you punch it out, split it into 12 sections, and roll each piece to roughly 3/4 inch in diameter and 16 inches long before shaping. Rushing the rise will result in denser pretzels.
