Smoked Cheese Snetzels(Snail Pretzels)

After significant trial and error, I believe I found the best way to make cheese stuffed soft pretzels without all of the stuffing bursting out, and it was all in the shape! It would appear that the decreased surface area of a tight spiral and the sealing of of the seam locks everything in place. One thing led to another, and now every time I make filled pretzels they look like snails.

The recipe itself is quite simple and can be scaled or modified to your heart's content. The amounts given in this instructable yield enough dough for 5 large pretzels.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of warm water (about 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp of white granulated sugar
• 2 cups of all purpose flour plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp of all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 4 oz of smoked cheddar cheese cut into small rectangular prisms (I am partial to Tillamook)
• 1 Tbsp of baking soda
• The yolk of 1 large egg
• Large grain salt for topping (you can use pretzel salt or any other type of large salt)

Equipment

• A large bowl
• Plastic wrap
• A cutting board
• A non-serrated knife
• Parchment paper
• A baking sheet
• A saucepan (preferably shallow)
• Tongs/a slotted spoon/a spatula (something to turn the pretzels while they boil)

Add the water and sugar into a large bowl and mix until the sugar is fully dissolved. While the water is still warm, sprinkle the contents of the yeast packet onto the surface of the water. Let the mixture sit for approximately 5 minutes or until frothy and slightly creamy. Use the pictures associated with this step as visual aids if necessary, the first picture is of the mixture just after sprinkling the yeast in and the second is of the yeast after resting for 5 minutes.

Once the yeast has rested and activated, add the flour and oil to the bowl. With the flour still as one mound, add the sage, garlic powder, and salt directly on top of the flour. This separation of the flavoring agents and the pure yeast mixture will help assure a well risen dough. Mix the contents of the bowl with a tool of your choice (your choices do include your bare hands) until the mixture comes together into a sticky, shaggy dough like that featured in the second picture of this step.

Sprinkle your kneading surface generously with flour. Turn your dough out onto this surface and knead for approximately 8 minutes or until the dough can be stretched enough to see light from the opposite side. You don't need to get fancy with your kneading techniques. Simply pushing the dough with the palm of your hand so it stretches while it rolls should be more than sufficient. Be sure to keep your work surface floured until the dough begins to stay together, or you will be in a world of hurt come cleanup time.

Clean and dry your large bowl. Liberally spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray before dropping the dough inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let prove for 1 hour or until roughly doubled in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and split into 5 even balls. Form each ball into a tube of dough approximately 24 inches long. Using two fingers, press the tubes into flat rectangles about 1 inch wide. Lay one fifth of the cheese along the center of each of the rectangles, oriented so that the longest sides of each piece of cheese is parallel to the longest sides of the rectangle.

Pinch and crimp the edges of each dough rectangle over the cheese, sealing the cheese inside. Repeat the crimping where any holes develop. Press the seam of the crimps down onto itself in order to seal the cheese more reliably. Tightly roll the dough into a spiral with the seam facing to the inside, adding another layer of protection. Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper and a healthy spray of nonstick cooking oil.

This is by far the most important step. Place each spiral of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Carefully form the tail of each spiral into the shape of a snail's head with antennae. This is what gives each of them a personality and as much of a soul as a pretzel can have. Do not take this moment away from them.

Fill a saucepan with water to a depth of 2 inches and add the baking soda. Stir until the baking soda is dissolved and bring the mixture to a boil. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. One at a time, boil each dough snail for 30 seconds before flipping them and boiling the other side for another 30 second. After boiling, return the dough to the prepared baking sheet.

Combine the egg yolk and 1 Tbsp of water using a pastry brush. The mixture should be homogeneous. Using the pastry brush, coat each dough snail with a thin layer of the egg mixture. This mixture will give the snetzels a beautiful color and shine. Sprinkle each dough snail with large grain salt to taste.

Bake the dough snails in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until deeply golden brown. This is like metamorphic a sauna for the snails. It is where they become snetzels. It's really quite beautiful when you think about it, like a butterfly spreading its wings for the first time.

Remove the snetzels from the baking tray and allow to cool. I like to use a wire rack, but it is not necessary. The snetzels are now complete, and I wish them well on their journey.