I love pretzels.
It's more than love, really. If there is such a thing as a "food soul mate," pretzels would be it for me. Ever since Elementary School, I would eat one pretzel a day. In high school, they went around selling the soft pretzels every Wednesday as school ended. 25 cents each or 5 for a dollar. I would get the 5 and half of them would be gone by the time I got off the bus. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I would go to the local pretzel shop when they closed because I knew they'd give me extras. I'd order one and leave with a bag of pretzels and a few pretzel dogs. They closed that place down last year and I almost cried.
Okay, fine. I did cry. But it was more of that dramatic single tear down your face kinda thing.
It was then that I actually around that time I started making my own soft pretzels at home. The first pretzels I made looked and smelled incredible... but the taste.... ugh, it was the worst thing ever. I think it was because I tried using whole wheat flour? I don't know, but every pretzel after that was much better. It did take a while for me to figure out how to get that nice, hard skin good soft pretzels have. Mmm... that's always my favorite part. I would eat the inside of the pretzel and save the outer part for last.
At first I would try to boil them longer .... the dough got too soggy... then I tried just lightly brushing the dough with the water.... not enough color. THEN, I discovered the secret... refrigeration! If you leave the pretzels in the refrigerator for about an hour, it will develop a nice skin that will brown wonderfully after a quick soak in water.
Here I am yammering on and on about pretzels, let me say a couple of things about these brie and spinach stuffed pretzel rolls. They have that wonderful texture and chew you get from store-bought pretzels and the brie and spinach stuffing is so gooey and cheesy and oh my gosh, the whole thing just melts in your mouth! I highly recommend using pretzel salt, but if you can't get your hands on any, kosher salt will work. The flavor and smooth creaminess of the brie is what really makes these rolls delicious, but you can substitute the brie with any cheese that melts well.
Now, enough gibber jabber and go make yourself some stuffed pretzel rolls!
Recipe Card
Brie and Spinach Stuffed Pretzel Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz brie without the rind
- 1 cup spinach roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons pretzel salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried garlic
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the yeast, salt, sugar and water in a bowl. Lightly mix to dissolve the sugar. Allow the yeast to proof for about 5 minutes. You should see a nice layer of froth over the water. If not, try using fresher yeast.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and butter using a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like large crumbs.
- Mix the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and combine well. Turn out into a floured surface and knead about 5 minutes. Put the dough back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 30 - 45 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll out each piece into a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Place an even amount of the spinach and brie in the center of the rounds. Top with ground pepper and a pinch of dried garlic. (powdered garlic will work too)
- pinch the edges together so the mixture will not melt out. Lightly roll each roll to smooth it out.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the rolls on. Put the sheet in the refrigerator uncovered for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Boil water in a large pot and add baking soda - be careful to not let it overflow. You should use 1.4 cup baking soda for every cup of water you use. Boil both sides of the rolls for exactly one minute each and place back on the baking sheet.
- Lightly sprinkle the pretzel salt over each roll and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a nice deep brown.
Savanah says
Two questions: 1. Is the ratio 1/4 cup baking soda to 1 cup water? 2. Does this recipe work if you do not stuff them? I was thinking I may make a mixture of stuffed and unstuffed. These look delicious!!
Amanda says
Savanah, yes, that ratio is my favorite to use when making pretzels. If you want to make them unstuffed, simply form them into rolls. They will need a little longer to bake, so separate them from the stuffed batch. Also, you may want to cut a shallow "X" on top of them to prevent the dough from ripping during baking. Let me know if you have any other questions and/or how they turned out!!
Savanah says
Wonderful! I'll try to remember to let you know how it goes!
Thanks for the clarifications!
Christine says
Oh my goodness...I need to make these for my sister. Not only do we both love pretzels, but we both love warm, baked brie! nom, nom, nom. Sharing, sharing, sharing!
Tabitha Drugan says
I can not wait to make these they look amazing and I love homemade pretzels. I have a question though every time I boil them they look shriveled and they get soggy what am I doing wrong I do not want to do the work and have that happen with these. So any ideas ? Thanks in advance.
Amanda says
It is okay for them to look a -little- shriveled or wrinkly, that happens sometimes. The trick is the timing. It sounds like they are spending too much time in the water. By leaving them in the fridge for an hour to build that skin, it will definitely be more forgiving for leaving them in the water for a little longer. What I recommend doing is to try this: Boil your water until it is at a rapid rumble and remove the water from the heat. Add your baking soda. Then start adding your pretzels, I don't like to do more than 2 - 3 at a time. Let them sit in the water for exactly one minute each side (I use my stove timer for this). Then move them to a baking sheet. This is my exact process, and I am sure it will work for you too!
Tabitha Drugan says
Thank you so much I can't wait to try them!!