Pep & Ched Pretzel Bites

Once upon a time, I used to tour with my band. On the road our food choices were dire but my all-time favourite snack was a gas station pre-packaged pepperoni and cheddar stick. Both disgusting and divine, these pep & cheds upset everyone in the van but I didn’t care. This recipe is my homage to those days.

Instead of gas station meat, I sub in turkey pepperoni from my local butcher and use my favourite quality cheddar cheese - all stuffed into bite-sized pretzel balls. Pure delight.

*also traditional German pretzel recipes call for using lye which I’m scared of and refuse to do - so I use a baking soda bath instead to get that golden dark brown look.

INGREDIENTS

• 565 grams of all-purpose flour (4 1/2 cups)

• 2/3 cup baking soda

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp salt

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 3 tbsp oil

• One packet of instant yeast

• 1 egg beaten

• 360 ml water

• 3-4 Turkey pepperoni sticks

• 200 grams of your favourite cheddar, I love White Fox Cheddar or Red Fox Leicester

• 2 tbsp of kosher coarse salt (There is also pretzel salt out there if you’re interested in a shopping hunt.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the instant yeast, water, sugar, and salt until it starts to foam.

2. Dice the pepperoni and grate the cheese and mix together in a bowl and set aside. (This pepperoni and cheddar mixture will be stuffed into little pretzel dough balls later)

3. In a new bowl add the flour, garlic powder, and 2 tbsp of oil.

4. Add yeast water to the flour and knead it until a shaggy dough forms. You don’t want it too sticky.

5. Take the dough out and oil the bowl that the dough was just in. Put the dough back in and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

6. Let this sit for an hour.

7. Preheat your oven to 450 F

8. After an hour, knead the dough and then start making your small balls of dough. I usually make a few long snakes about an inch thick and cut inch-long pieces from them. (Your dough balls are about an inch in diameter, like mini-golf balls)

9. Take each dough ball and make a divot in the center of the ball, stuff this with a pinch of the pepperoni and cheddar mixture. Make sure it’s sealed up and no pepperoni and cheddar can be seen.

10. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Watch this closely as the baking soda will bubble and overflow if left unattended.

11. Boil the balls in your baking soda bath for 1 min.

12. Remove from the baking soda bath and set on a parchment-lined baking tray.

13. Brush each ball with egg wash and sprinkle on salt.

14. Bake for 12-15 min at 450 F.

15. Serve with ketchup and mustard and sparkling wine.