{gluten-free} pretzel bites

i’m on a mission. testing out recipes with gluten free flour. don’t get me wrong, they’re not gluten free recipes and i’m not testing out crazy mixes. i’m taking regular recipes and using cup4cup flour (see linkage). it’s totally fun. and when this recipe showed up on my FB feed i nearly drooled. ok, fine, i totally drooled. i mean come on, i have not eaten a piece of real soft crusty challah like bread in months. (hmmm, that’s given me an idea).

it’s been rough. sigh…

anyway….a couple weeks back i totally kvelled about this new flour i picked up. i made these…kvell, i just got all yiddish on you, see that…sooo anyway, i’m falling in love with the ease of taking this gluten free flour and being able to make almost everything (almost as in so far). it’s making things a lot easier, and i love the lack of the grittiness and the real flour like flavor. it’s worth every cent not having to mix my own. so with sunday being the big day, super bowl, you know, i had to figure out something fast.

i must admit, i hate football, but i love eating. this is the “holiday” to make a shit load of fatty, not healthy, crappy stuff you would never eat. although our menu contains wings, chips, lots of dips and fried stuff, the menu, chosen by my son, also includes soft pretzels.

although i didn’t change or alter the recipe much i did obviously use gluten free flour. instead of honey, agave. i even sprinkled cinnamon and sugar over half the pretzels…um, dessert pretzels, yes (another fun variation, pretzel buns. wonderful warm out of the oven, see pict below)!

so i won’t waste your time anymore…i’m just gonna get to it, the recipe. oh, and a picture, because you have to see these.

gluten free soft pretzels adapted from fiveandspice.com • original recipe to be found here

note: cup 4 cup flour did as stated, replaced the flour with 100% satisfaction. what i did however find after replacing regular flour with cup 4 cup after a couple recipes, i use about 1/2 cup less to begin and then add till you think it looks right. you’ll know, trust me. this dough will go from sticky to “dough” really quickly. i started with 3 cups and slowly added 1/4 cup more and then another because it wasn’t quite there yet. i also used my stand mixer, mostly cause i’m lazy. and anything involving kneading dough usually frustrates me.

for pretzel mix:

3/4 cups warm water
3/4 tbl SAF yeast
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup salted butter (melted, brought to room temp)
3 1/2 cups all purpose cup4cup GF flour

for water bath:

8 cups water
2 tbl sugar
1/4 cup baking soda

toppings:

1 egg white lightly beaten
sea salt. cinnamon sugar. go crazy.

using the bowl for the stand mixer, whisk together warm water and agave. sprinkle yeast on top and let stand for about 5 minutes.
in the meantime, in a small bowl, quickly whisk together the egg, room temp butter and salt. in a medium bowl whisk together flour to avoid and clumps. spray or oil a big bowl to rest dough in.
now back to your stand mixer, set up your dough attachment. to the yeast and agave mixture, add egg mixture and on low, start mixing until combined (will take about 30 seconds)
carefully start adding the flour until it is entirely incorporated (see note above, start with 3 cups and go from there) and it comes together in a ball. turn off the mixer, rub some flour on your hands grab the dough, make sure to mix in all the flour that has gathered around the sides and place in a greased bowl (think pizza dough, oh and i use coconut oil spray). cover and set aside for 2 hours in a nice warm spot.
after about 2 hours, preheat oven to 425. fill a large pot with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and get a slotted spoon out.
then, on a lightly floured surface, take pieces of dough and roll into 8 ropes (or as my children say, long snakes). using a sharp knife, slice the dough ropes into 1 inch pieces.
when water boils, stir in sugar and baking soda (when adding the baking soda, it will bubble up!). bring the water down to a simmer and add your little dough pieces about 10/15 at a time. simmer for about 1.5 minutes, remove from water with a slotted spoon and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. repeat until all done.
brush the bites with egg white and sprinkle with your favorite toppings.
bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until they are a deep golden brown.
cool bites and eat.

quick note about the rolls. for the rolls, i rolled into big meatballs and let them rest on the counter top for another 20 minutes until they rose just a touch more. give them a water bath and follow directions above.

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