Homemade Pretzel Dogs: No Chopping Needed!

• Food: homemade pretzel dogs
• Ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, baking soda, hot dogs
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

Having given up any facade of eating healthy, Jill and I chose a delicious, easy, and cheap meal this week: Pretzel Dogs! Pretzel dogs are my favorite food in the whole world (except for potatoes, of course). I had never attempted to make them at home before, so thank goodness Jill is an amazing baker. The dogs turned out so good that we have decided to open up a pretzel dog food truck and sell them on the mall. We should be billionaires soon enough…

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We used this recipe for the pretzel dough, so you will definitely want to go there for exact measurements and detailed instructions. The first step is to pour the yeast over some warm sugar water and wait till it gets foamy (about 5 minutes). The add all the flour and salt and mix with a dough hook until it forms a ball.

If you don't own a fancy kitchenaid, you can knead with your hands.

 

Once the dough is ready, cover it loosely with saran wrap and let it rise for an hour.

All done! This is seriously the hardest part. We had to watch two whole episodes of Parks and Rec.

When the dough has risen, divide it into eight parts and roll each piece into a strip about 12 inches long.

We are lucky to have hand models who are willing to work for pretzels.

 

Bring a pot of water and baking soda to a boil, and boil each strip of dough for 30 seconds before wrapping around a hot dog.

 

Finally, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy with a beer and an episode of Cougar Town! (Seriously. I really don’t want this show to get canceled. It’s on tonight at 8:30!)